
C" 



GENERAL H [STORY 



THE TOWN OF SHARON, 



LITCHFIELD COUNTY, CONN. 



From its First Settlement. 



BY CHARLES F. 5EDGWICK, A. M. 



THIRD EDITION. 



AMENIA, N. Y.: 

Ghables Walsh, Printer and Publisher. 

1898. 



\u -^ 



c ^ ••:* ^ «^ 



CONTENTS. 



Contents . 



7- 



Preface to First Edition..... 10—. 

Preface to Second Edition 11— 12 

Preface to Third Edition 13— 14 

Biographical Sketch of Author 15— 

Chapter I l"^"" ^^ 

Containing a Concise History of Events which Led 
to the Sale and Settlement of the Township. 

Chapter II ^^~ ^'^ 

An Account of the Measures Proposed and Ex- 
ecuted for the Sale and Settlement of the Town- 
ship. 

Chapter III ^^— ^^ 

Incorporation of the Town— First Town Meeting- 
List of Officers Chosen— Settlement of Rev. Peter 
Pratt— First Meeting House— Alarming Sickness. 

Chapter IV ^^— ^^ 

Indians in Sharon. 

Chapter V 43- 53 

Ecclesiastical Affairs— Deposition of Mr. Pratt— 
His Subsequent Career— Litchfield County ; When 
Organized— Settlement of Mr. Searle— Ellsworth 
Society— Rev. Mr. Knibloe— Dismission of Mr. 
Searle. 



8 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. 

Chapter VI 53— 57 

A History of the Moravian Missions in Sharon. 

Chapter VII 58— 66 

Rev. Cotton Mather Smith — Census — Church of 
England Missions — Organization of the Episcopal 
Parish — Nevs^ Meeting House — Rev. George Whit- 
field. 

Chapter VIII 67— 76 

Events of the Revolutionary War. 

Chapter IX 77— 85 

Incidental Events — Disastrous Fire in Sharon Val- 
ley — Small Pox — Casualties— Shay's Rebellion- 
Excise Duties. 

Chapter X 86— 91 

Methodist Society in Sharon. 

Chapter XI 92—103 

History of the Ecclesiastical Society, Continued. 

Chapter XII 104—109 

The War of the Rebellion. 

Chapter XIII 110—163 

Biographical Notices — Family Sketches, Geneal- 
ologies, Etc. 

Appendix A 165—166 

Form of Deeds Given by the Government's Com- 
mittee to the Purchasers of Rights to the Common 
Land in Sharon. 

Appendix B 167—170 

Patent of the Town of Sharon. 

Appendix C 171—174 

Rev. Cotton Mather Smith's Reply to Rev. Dr. 
Trumbull's Circular. 

Appendix D 175—176 

Copy of the Deed by which the Indians Conveyed 
Away their Last Claim of Title to Lands in Sharon. 

Appendix E 177— 

List of Names of Soldiers of the Revolution, 
belonging to the Town of Sharon, who served in 
1776, taken from the Controller's Books, in 
Hartford. 



history of the town op sharon. 9 

Appendix F 178—181 

Narrative of Adonijah Maxam. 

Appendix G 182—183 

Graduates of Yale College who have been Citizens 
of Sharon. 

Appendix H 184— 

Names of the Children of the Rev. Cotton Mather 
Smith, with the dates of their decease. 

Appendix I 185—190 

Roll of the Representatives from the Town of 
Sharon to the General Assembly. 

Appendix J 191—193 

Town Officers. 

Appendix K 194— 

Hymn composed by the Hon. John Cotton Smith, 
and sung at the Celebration of the One Hundredth 
Anniversary of the First Town Meeting. 

Appendix L 195—198 

History and Dedication of the Soldiers' Monument. 

Appendix M 199—302 

The Hotchkiss Library. 

Appendix N 203—204 

The Catholic Church in Sharon. 



PREFACE TO FIRST EDITION. 



The Author of the following pages was requested by his 
fellow citizens of the town of Sharon to prepare an address to be 
delivered at the celebration of the one-hundredth anniversary of 
their first town meeting, on the 22d day of December, 1839. 
This request was complied with, but the short period in which it 
was prepared rendered it, necessarily, in many respects imper- 
fect, and in some inaccurate. By the advice of many friends he 
has been induced to embody the facts connected with the History 
of the Town in the form here presented, and to commit the work 
to the press for the benefit of the inhabitants of liis adopted 
town. The labor of making the researches has necessarily occu- 
pied much time, and no effort has been spared to make the work 
accurate in its details. In preparing sketches of the many 
citizens of the town who are brought to notice in the last chapter, 
the personal history of more than two hundred individuals, many 
of whom have been dead for a half century, has been investi- 
gated, and many names which had long since gone into 
forgetfulness are brought to liglit. It is not unlikely that in this 
part of the work some errors may have intervened, but it is 
believed that in almost every instance accuracy has been 
attained. 

If the work shall prove interesting or useful to the citizens of 
the town, the labor incurred in its preparation will be well repaid. 

Sharon, March 1842, 



PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION. 



It is now thirty-five years since the author published a His - 
tory of the Town of Sharon. He was appointed by his fellow 
townsmen to prepare an address to be delivered on the one hun- 
dredth anniversary of the first town meeting of the town. This 
led him to a partial but by no means thorough investigation of 
facts connected with the history of the town. Very little aid 
was obtained from public documents, other than the records of 
the town, and the principal reUance for items of history was 
upon the traditions handed down from the early settlers. Under 
these circumstances the work was committed to the press. The 
consequence was that in regard to the early history of the town, 
it was very defective, owing to the uncertainties of traditions 
and the barrenness of documentary proof. Since the book was 
published, the study into the history of local corporations has 
become very general, and the success which has in some cases 
attended such pursuits has encouraged the author to make more 
minute investigations into the facts relating to the early history 
of Sharon. In prosecuting this purpose he was greatly aided by 
the late Nathaniel Goodwin, Esq., of Hartford, who was an 
antiquarian of most scrupulous accuracy, and who delighted to 
extend his aid in the difl'usion of historical knowledge. Many of 
the documents thus obtained have been copied into this work, 
that the men of those times may give in their own language a 
history of their trials and success. 



12 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. 

When the first book was pubUshed some were living who 
were acquainted with some of the early settlers of the town, 
and whose recollections extended back to the preaching of 
Whitfield and to the exciting times preceding the war of the 
Revolution. Many others then survived who took an active 
part in that war. The late Alpheus Jewett, Esq., was one of 
the party which was organized in Sharon, vrhich broke up and 
scattered a large body of tories who had gathered at Washing- 
ton Hollow, N. Y., in 1777, to welcome the coming of the 
British General, Burgoyne, then on his way with a large army 
from Canada. He was also in the battle at Compo in Fair- 
field, where Lieut. Samuel Elmer, Jun., was killed, and fur- 
nished the particulars of that battle as given in the body of this 
work. He had a remarkably retentive memory, and the aid 
which he furnished the author in gathering up the incidents in 
the history of the town is gratefully remembered. The same 
acknowledgment is due to the memory of the late Calvin Gay, 
Esq., from whom the author derived much aid in the prepara- 
tion of the notices of individuals noticed in the last chapter. 

These worthies of the olden time have all gone to their rest, 
but their statement of historical events occurring during their 
time furnish the only authentic information of many incidents 
in the annals of the town. 

It is only of late that the Author has been persuaded to 
prepare and publish this edition of the work. The strong in- 
terest expressed by the prominent citizens of Sharon for the 
embodiment of such additional facts as might be brought to 
light by further investigations into another edition of the work, 
has persuaded him to engage in the undertaking. If in any 
degree it answers the expectations of those who have urged the 
publication, he will feel much gratified. 

CHARLES F. SEDGWICK. 



PREFACE TO THIRD EDITION. 



The Hon. Charles F. Sedgwick, A. M., from a large and 
valuable fund of information acquired through patient and pains- 
taking research, compiled a succinct and valuable historical work 
which was published as the History of Sharon. This first was 
delivered as an anniversary address and afterwards published in 
pamphlet form. Later the original matter, greatly amplified and 
added to, was given to the public in book form as the second 
edition, in 1877. Since that time the esteemed author has entered 
the life eternal. The second edition, published in 1877, has been 
completely exhausted for some years, and frequent demand hav- 
ing arisen for copies of a work so justly celebrated among local 
historical chronicles, the price of the very few copies available 
has risen to a large figure, and they are scarcely to be obtained 
at any price. 

The Publisher of the History now issues a Third Edition, with 
the consent and by authorization of the family of the author. The 
work has been preserved in its integrity, the only matter added 
being brief resumes in regard to the Soldiers' Mormment, the 
Hotchkiss Library and the Catholic Church, which have become 
notable features of Sharon, and worthy of mention in its history, 
and have come into being since Gen. Sedgwick's death. These 
will be found at the close of the book as Appendix L., Appendix 
M. and Appendix N. , respectively. The records of the ecclesias- 
tical and civil organizations of the town have been brought down 



14 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. 

to date to be complete at this time. The Publisher has wislied to 
add also a little of illustration to the book, notably the portrait of 
the distinguished author as a frontispiece. 

It is a wise and proper thing for every community to preserve 
and cherish the traditions and facts of its early annals, and every 
year makes the possession of such an interesting and well-written 
local history as this more valuable. 

THE PUBLISHER. 




BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF AUTHOR. 



Charles Frederick Sedgwick, son of John Andrews 
Sedgwick, was born at Cornwall Hollow, Conn., September 1, 
1795. He belonged to a family distinguished both in this country 
and in England. His grandfather, General John Sedgwick, was 
Major in the Revolutionary army, and a Major-general of the 
State Militia, and was a direct descendant of the Puritan, Robert 
Sedgwick, who was one of Cromwell's most able Generals, and 
was the founder of the family in America, settling in Charles- 
town, Mass., about 163fi. 

Mr. Sedgwick graduated from Williams College in 1813, and 
studied law with Judge Cyrus Swan of Sharon, where he con- 
tinued in the practice of his profession. He held the office of 
State's Attorney for Litchfield County for eighteen years, and 
served in both branches of the Legislature of the State. He 
always took a great interest in military affairs, and for many 
years was Major general of the State Militia. 

Mr. Sedgwick married Betsy, eldest daughter of Judge 
Swan, in 1821. He died in Sharon, March 9th, 1883. He had 
ten children, and the youngest son, Cyrus Swan Sedgwick, still 
resides in the old family home. 



HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. 



CHAPTER 



CONTAINING A CONCISE HISTORY OF EVENTS WHICH LED TO THE 
SALE AND SETTLEMENT OF THE TOWNSHIP. 



The North-western part of Connecticut was sold and settled 
at a much later period than any other portion of the state. As 
early as the year 1686, nearly all the lands in the Colony had 
been disposed of, except those lying north of Waterbury and Wood- 
bury, and west of Simsbury. Under the Charter of Charles II. , 
obtained in 1663, the Colony of Connecticut, though nominally 
dependent on the crown, enjoyed, in fact, a strictly Republican 
form of government ; the only service they were required to 
render to the crown of England being the one fifth part of the 
produce of such mines of gold and silver as should be discovered. 
Charles was succeeded by his brother, James II. , a prince of very 
arbitrary and vindictive propensities, and no sooner was he firm- 
ly seated on his throne, than he began to manifest his tyrannical 
disposition by causing the charters, which had been granted l)y 
his predecessors, to be vacated, and by assuming to himself the 
right of appointing governors for the different Colonies. It was 
feared by the people, that these Royal governors would seize 
upon all the public lands which had not been sold and granted by 
the Colony, and measures were taken to prevent such unjustifi- 
able proceedings. It was believed, that if the public lands were 
sold, and the title to them guaranteed by the governor and com- 
pany of the Colony, they could not be seized for the king, and 
under this impression, the land within the limits just mentioned 



IM IIISTOHY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. 

were on the; 3Gth day of January, 1(586, conveyed to the towns 
of liartford and Windsor. The grant, however, did not include 
the lands west of the Ousatonic River, the assembly probably 
s»i|)[)osing, that, on account of their great distance from the 
settleil parts of the Colony, they were beyond tlie reach of the 
royal governor's rapacity. In October, after the grant just men- 
tioned. Sir Edmund Andross came into the Colony, and by virtue 
of a commission fro:n King James, took upon himself the ad- 
ministration of the government, and continued in it about two 
years, or until tlie deposition of King James, when the people 
quietly i-esunied their ancient form of government under the 
Charter. 

The lands above mentioned being deemed of little value, and 
the more fertile parts of the State being but thinly populated, 
it was more than thirty years before any attempts were made 
to settle them. About the year 1732, the public attention was 
turned to the wetitern lands, as they were called ; and as they 
began to rise in value, the towns of Hartford and Windsor laid 
claim to them, under the ancient grant which had been made 
to them under the circumstances which have been mentioned. 
Tills claim created a strong excitement throughout the Colony, 
and a long and bitter controversy ensued, which resulted in a 
division of the lands between the towns and the Colony, the 
towns taking the eastern portion and the Colony the western. 

This contention with Hartford and Windsor had retarded the 
sale of the western lands, but that difiiculty was now adjusted, 
and the Assembly took measures, soon after 1730, to effect this 
object ; and for this purpose they were surveyed, and laid out 
into townships of suitable dimensions. At the session in May, 
1733, Edmund Letcis, Esq., Capt. 8tep?ien Noble, and Mr. William 
(laylord,* were appointed a committee to view the Colony lands 
west of the Ousattmic River, and to lay out a township in the 



* Mr. Luwis, who whh placed at the head of this committee, belonged to 
Stratford, and was the Gount.v Surveyor of Fairfield County. He had 
liccii cinploycd through the whole of tlic prcccdiiiK year in surveying and 
riimiini,' tlu' liniindary line between the i-dldiiy of Conneeticut and the 
l)ni\ iiicr (if Nr\v York, which was a wcuk of \'irv u'rrat labor. He liad also 
b.'cn rini.l.iv.l. yi/ars before, in layinu' out ,-niiiitry grants in tlic south 
part of tlic tcrritorv, and of course was well ar.imuntcd witli all this region 
of coniitrv, tbrn in a stub' of nature. Mr. N'olil.' was tb,.' second son of Mr. 
John Noble of Xrw MiUor<l. wlio is reputed tbe lirst settler of that town. 

Mr. (ravlord was als le of the lirst settlers of New Milfor.l, and waB 

originally from Wiiulsor. He was the patriarch of the (laylord family 
which settled in tlu; northwest part of that town, called Gaylord's farms, 
or straights, in which tlie Gaylord name still prevails. 



HISTOUY OF THE TOWN OF SIIAllON. 1() 

northern suction of tliem. They were also endowed witli discre- 
tionary power to lay out a township on the south of the one 
just mentioned, if, upon viewing the lands, they should be of 
opinion that they were of such a quality as to render them a de- 
sirable place for a new settlement. This committee entered 
I)romptly upon their duties ; and by their report, dated at New 
Milford, October 9, 1732, it appears they laid out both townships. 
The north township, now Salisbury, they denominated "the 
toicnship of M," and the south township they called iV. S. The 
remainder of the country lands west of the Ousatonic River were 
afterwards annexed to Kent. The boundaries of the second 
township are thus described by the committee : ' ' Then having 
taken a view of the whole tract, we proceeded and laid out a sec- 
ond township, which begins at the southwest corner of the 
aforesaid township of M, it being a stake set in the ground, and 
many stones laid to it, standing on the east side of a pond, as 
above set forth ; and from thence the line runs 12| D. W., 
with the line of partition between said province of New York 
and the Colony of Connecticut, nine miles to a heap of stones 
laid on a rock, in the aforesaid line of partition, and is about 
two miles east from Captain Sackett's dwelling house, which is 
the southwest corner bounds of said second township — from 
thence we run the south line of said second township E. 9^ D. 
south four miles and a half and 115 rods, to the Ousatonic River, 
where we marked a white oak tree, and laid many stones to it, 
for the southeast corner bounds of said second township, and 
we have marked many trees and made many monuments in the 
said south line. Thus we have surveyed and laid out the town- 
ship of N. S. , and it is bounded north on the township of M. , 
south on the country lands, west on the aforesaid line of par- 
tition between the province of New York and the Colony of 
Connecticut, and east on the Ousatonic River." The above 
work was completed October 7, 1732.* 



* The opinion of the committee as to the qnality of the lands west ot 
the Ousatonic Iliver is here given in their own language, and it will he 
read with much interest by tliose who are acquainted wit)i its present con- 
dition and value. "Furthermore these may certify the Hon., the General 
Assembly, that as to the quality of the aforesaid described and laid out 
lands, in the said townships, we find them Hke a great part of the rest of 
the lands in this government, some good and some otherwise ; we find the 
good and fertile lands in the north township to be considerably scattering, 
and that there are country grants laid out in it to tin; quantity of about 
3 500 acres. There are six p(mds in said north township, which we .ludge, 
all of them, contain not less than :i,000 acres.— There is at the northwest 



20 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. 

It would seem that the way was now prepared for the sale and 
settlement of the township, but the Hartford and Windsor lands 
being nearer the settled portions of the Colony, probably afford- 
ed a more desirable field for the enterprize of new settlers, and 
the Colony lands were neglected. Other circumstances also ex- 
isted which produced a serious delay in bringing the lands in 
Sharon into market. The line of partition between the Colony 
of Connecticut and the Province of New York, was defined 
and establishe«l in May. 1731. The commissioners to settle the 
boundaries between the different jurisdiction on the part of Con- 
necticut, wei-e Samuel Eells, Roger Wolcott and Edmund Lewis ; 
on the part of New York, Cadvvalader Colden, Vincent .Matthews 
and Jacobus Bruyn, Jun., and the articles of settlement are dated 
Dover, May 14, 1731. 

Several years before the settlement of the boundaries, one 
Riciiard Sackett had located himself at the place now called the 
Steel Warks, in the beautiful Valley of the Ten Mile River, about 
seven miles south of the now village of Sharon. The whole re- 
gion was a wilderness, and it being in the time of Queen Anne's 
war, he was exposed to imminent peril from hostile savages. 
He acquired large possessions of land and his settlement is spoken 
of in cotemporary documents and records as SacketfK Farm. 
He had been a sea captain in early life, and in connection with 
wealthy individuals in the city of New York he commenced 
at an early day to purchase the Indian title to the lands near 
him. The colony line not having been established, he probably 
availed himself of his knowledge of astronomy acquired in the 



corner of said towiiBhip, on Poconnuck Mount, a large piece of rough 
waste lan<1, we think not less than 4,000 acres. The remainder of the 
lands in said township will, in our judgment, be serviceable for plowing, 
mowing, and pasturing and will, with the inhabitants there, and the 
farms, accommodate a sufficient number of inhabitants for a town. 

"In the second township we find two ponds, which may contain .500 
acres. There is laid out in it, of country grants, 400 acres, and a con- 
siderable quantity of rough land, yet we find such a quantity of feasible 
lands in it (and not so much scattering as in the first township), as will, 
in our judgment, accommodate a sufficient number of inhabitants for a 
town. 

"The remainder of the country lands there is about eight miles in 
length, and at the south end, we judge, about three-fourths of a mile 
wide ; wliich we find, the greatest part of it, to be very rough and 
mountainous ; yet we find some feasible land in it— which is all at 
present supposed to be needful by your Honors' most obedient servants 
to command. 

Edmund Lewis, ) 

Stephkn Noble, > Committee, 

Wm. Gaylord, ) 

New Milford, October 9, 1732, 



HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. 21 

study of navigation, and made experiments and observations, 
based upon a treaty of partition made in 1683, but which liad 
never been carried out by actual survey, and persuaded liiniself 
tliat the boundary line, when surveyed, would run witliin about 
two miles of the Ousatonic River. In this belief, he purchased 
of MeUmni, the great Chief of all the Indian tribes in that region, 
whose residence was probably at Copake FlaU, N. Y., about 
twenty two thousand acres of land, more than seven thousand 
acres of which the survey of the boundary line showed to be in 
Connecticut. The boundaries were definitely traced in the treaty 
of purchase but in general terms they were as follows : 

The east line commenced at a place which the Indians called 
Wimpeting, at the western base of a range of mountains, about 
seven miles south of Sharon Village and from that point it 
followed the western base of the mountain range, northerly, to 
a point in Salisbury, a little east of Town Hill, so called. From 
that point the line ran northwesterly to the base of the mountain 
north of the Ore Hill, which in the Indian deed is called Pori- 
sumpsie, thence southwesterly to the foot of the mountain west 
of Spencer's Corner, then following that range southerly through 
theWassaic valley, to Sackett's other possessions. Looking at 
this territory in all its characteristics and resources, we can 
hardly conceive of any other which exceeds it in rural beauty or 
sources of wealth. 

He, believing that the whole tract was within the territory 
of New York, obtained a confirmation of his title from the Pro- 
vincial Government and from Queen Anne's Most Excellent 
Majesty. He exercised acts of ownersliip in different parts of 
the territory. He built a dwelling house in what is now called 
Sharon Valley, which stood west of the Ten Mile River, a little 
west of the Malleable Iron Works, and just within the territory 
of Connecticut. There he settled a tenant of the name of Baltus 
Lott, a Dutchman. There can be no doubt that the house oc- 
cupied by this individual was the first house built by a white 
man in Shai'on, and that he was the first white inhabitant of the 
town. Sackett also made other improvements in various portions 
of the lands claimed by him. But the running of the bound- 
ary line in 1731 showed him that a large and valuable portion of 
them were within the jurisdiction of Connecticut, and that so 
much of them would be lost to him unless he could obtain a con- 
firmation of his title from that colony. 



32 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. 

He immediately commenced petitioning the General Court 
of Connecticut for the recognition of his title, and prosecuted his 
suit for nearly seven years. He urged, from time to time, his 
claims to the land for the reasons, that he had expended large 
sums of money in the purchase of it, in the full belief that it 
was in New York ; that he had braved many dangers during a 
long residence in the wilderness, encountered perils and priva- 
tions of various kinds, had built a grist mill for the benefit of 
the neighboring inhabitants ; and in various other ways urged a 
confirmation of his title. His petitions were uniformly rejected 
by the legislature, and he, after several years' of effort, satisfied 
that a further prosecution would be useless, abandoned it forever. 
But his tenant Baltus Lott held on to his possessions for sev- 
eral years after the town was settled, despite the many efforts 
of the proprietors to dislodge him and finally compelled them to 
pay him a liberal price for his improvements. 

The Colony of Connecticut ever made it a practice to deal 
justly by the Indian claimants before they attempted to dispose 
of .its lands by settlements. Treating Sackett's purchase as a 
nullity, the governor and company employed Thomas Lamb, 
who lived at Lime Rock, in Salisbury, to buy up the Iridian title 
to the lands in Sharon, and in October, 1738, he effected a pur- 
chase from the tribe claiming title to them, for about four 
hundred and fifty dollars. The indefiuiteness and uncertainty 
of this contract with Lamb, as to how much, if any, land was I'e- 
served to the Indians, afterwards as will be seen, caused no little 
trouble to the settlers 

It will be observed that the committee who laid out the 
township, mention in their report to the legislature that there 
had been laid out in country grants about four hundred acres of 
land. This was the designation given to lands patented by the 
Colony to individual purchasers. The land thus described was 
near Hitchcock's Corner. It was laid out in two parcels, one 
of three hundred acres to Samuel Orvis, of Farmington, and an- 
other of about one hundred acres to Jonathan Bird of the same 
town. Both pieces were surveyed by Mr. Lewis about the time 
of the original survey of the town. This grant included lands 
of the very first quality, and extended as far north as to in- 
clude the farm of the late Southard Hitchcock, Esq. Orvis 
and Bird never occupied their lands, but before 1784 sold them 
to one Daniel Jackson, and the patent was taken out in Jack- 



HISTOIJY OF THE TOWN OF SlIAUOX. 23 

soil's iiaiiio, and the land for niaiiy years was called J(U'kwn'i< 
Patent. Daniel Jackson was the first New England iiuin who 
lived in Sharon. His house stood wliere the house lately owned 
by the Sharon Manufacturing Company stands. He was orig- 
inally from Newtown, in Fairfield County, but at the time of his 
purchase he resided in Dover, N. Y. His son Jehiel Jackson, 
who once lived where George Maxam now lives, in the Great Hal- 
kno, was the first white child born in Sharon. Mr. Jackson lived 
but a few years in town. In February, 1739, he sold his patent 
to Garret Winegar, and removed to Great Barrington, Mass. 




CHAPTER II. 



AN ACCOUNT OF THE MEASURES PROPOSED AND EXECUTED FOR 
THE SALE AND SETTLEMENT OF THE TOWNSHIP. 



At the session of the Assembly in May, 1738, it was ordered 
that the township should be sold at public auction at New 
Haven on the second Wednesday of the following October. 
Samuel Eels, Esq., Joseph Whiting and Capt. Isaac Dickerman 
were appointed a committee for that purpose. It was divided 
into fifty-three rights, or shares, as they were called, one of 
which was given to the first minister, one was reserved for the 
use of the ministry in the town, and one for the support of 
schools, and the debts accruing from the sale were secured by the 
bonds of the purchasers, and when collected the avails were 
divided among the other towns in the colony for the support of 
schools therein. The following is a list of the original pur- 
chasers of the town : 

Nathaniel Skinner, Ichabod Foot, 

Thomas Skinner, Stephen Calkin, 

Nathaniel Skinner, Jr., Samuel Hutchinson, 

Samuel Calkin, 2 rights, Timothy Pierce, 3 rights, 

Samuel Gillet, James Smith, 

Joshua Lyon, Ebenezer Mudge, 

Joseph Skinner, John Sprague, 

John Pardee, Samuel Butler, 3 rights, 

Niles Coleman, Benjamin Johns, 

Matthew Judd, James Talmadge, 



F TIIK TOWN (»F 



Jabez Crii)i)on, Daniel Hunt, 

William (jroodricli, 2 rights, Thomas Spafford, 

Jonathan Petit, John Goold, 

Zephaniah Swift, Benjamin Owen, 

Joseph Parke, Ebenezer Norton, o rights 

Joseph Holley, Samuel Comstock, 

Caleb Chappel, Jonathan Peck, 

Josiah Gillet, Jr. Jonathan Case, 

Samuel Beach, Moses Case, 

Joseph Monroe, John Woodin. 

Eben Case, 

These purchasers formed a legal corporation, whose desig- 
nation was and is, TJiC, Propi'ktors of the Common and Undivided 
Land in the Toirnship of Sharon. The clerks of the corporation 
have been Ntdlianiel Skinner, John Williams, Daniel Gris- 
ivold, Samuel Canfield, Samuel E. Everitt and Eben W. Chaffee. 
The corporation had power to set out to each proprietor in sev- 
eralty his share of the lands, and at different times they have 
been thus deeded, and each right has furnished to its owner 
nearly seven hundred acres of land. The average price of 
each right was about one thousand dollars, and each deed to 
the purchaser contained the following condition, which would 
ensure the speedy occupancy of the lands : 

" Always provided, and these presents, are upon this con- 
dition, that if the said — , shall by himself or his agent, 

within the space of two full years next after the date thereof, 
enter upon the said granted premises, build and finish an house 
thereon not less than eighteen feet square, and seven feet stud, 
subdue, clear, and fence six acres of said land, and continue 
thereon for the space of three successive years, commencing 
after the two years aforesaid, (unless prevented by deatli or 
inevitable Providences,) and do perform all duties and orders, 
pay all taxes that, shall be granted, then the aforesaid deed shall 
remain in full force and virtue. " 

The records do not show how much, if any of the pur- 
chase money was paid on the sale, or that any other security 
than the personal bond of the purchaser were required before 
giving the deeds. 

Of the original proprietors these became inhabitants of the 
town : 

Nathaniel Skinner, John Sprague, 

Nathaniel Skinner, Jr. John Pardee, 

Joseph Skinner, Jabez Crippen, 

* 4 



26 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. 

Stephen Calkin, William Goodrich, 

Samuel Hutchinson, Jonathan Petit, 

James Smith, Joseph Parke, 

Ebenezer Mudge, James Talmadge, 

Joseph Holley, Daniel Hunt, 

All the above names have become extinct in the town ex- 
cept those of Pardee and Calkin, each of which is represented by 
a bachelor, one of the age of eighty-six years, and the other 
not in a condition to afford much hope of progeny. There are 
many now remaining in the town who are descendants from the 
first proprietors through female lineage. 

Many of the original purchasers sold their rights to those 
who were also among the first settlers of the town. Some of 
them were as follows : — 

John Williams, David Hamilton, 

Ebenezer Jackson, Thomas Hamlin, 

Jonathan Dunham, Bartholomew Heath, 

Caleb Jewett, Samuel Hulburt, 

Obadiah Chapman, Jonathan Lord, 

Caleb Strong, John Marvin, 

John Corbet, Jonathan Rowley, 

Caleb Curtice, Matthew St. John, 

Ebenezer Frisbie, John Tickner, 

Benjamin Fuller, Bazaleel Tyler, 

John Gay, George Way, 

Immediately after the sale of the township, a number of 
the purchasers came on for the purpose of exploring, and to 
determine in what part of the town the settlement should be 
made. After exploring the lands and viewing their situation, it 
was found that the centre of the township was very unfavorably 
situated for the town plot. It was on a high ridge of land, 
where the face of the country was forbidding and un- 
comfortable. After mature deliberation, it was determined to 
fix the settlement on a street, laid out from Jackson's Patent to 
Salisbury line, and the place designed for the center, or site of 
the public buildings, was laid out in squares of a half mile each. 

All the individuals who came on to explore in the fall of 
1738, returned to their families except one, who was William 
Goodrich. He brought his family with him, and spent the 
winter, which was a very severe one, with no other neighbors 



HISTORY Ol' THK TOWN OF SHAltON. 27 

than the Indians, nearer than the Dutch settlements in tlie 
Oblong. The next Sjjring, however, brt)ught a large aeeession 
to the number of inhabitants, and from that period the settle- 
ment of the town may be said to have connnenced. 

The first division was into lots of about eighty acres each, 
which was to furnish the Home lot or residence of the proprie- 
tor. A Committee was appointed to lay out a lot ot eighty 
acres, which was called the Standard lot, and all the other lots 
were made to conform to this in value, the quantity to be more 
or less according to the quality. Some of the home lots were 
laid out wholly on one side of the street, and some on both sides, 
according to the situation of the land. The Standard lot was 
the one adjoining Jackson's Patent, owned by the late Charles 
T. Lovell. The settlers principally located on the main street 
leading from Jackson's Patent, now Hitchcock's Cornier, to 
Salisbury. Some, however, settled on the mountain and some 
in the valley, and in the course of a j-ear or two nearly the 
whole territory of the finst society was occupied. A large pro- 
portion of the first inhabitants of Sharon were from Lebanon 
and Colchester, in the county of Windham ; some few were 
from Norwalk and Stamford, in Fairfield county, and several 
families were from the Old Plymouth Colony. As they removed 
into the town they located themselves upon the several Home- 
lots which they had taken up, and by the next fall, were all 
comfortably provided with homes and other necessaries. 



CHAPTER 111. 



INCORPORATION OF THE TOWN — FIRST TOWN MEETING — LIST OF 

OFFICERS CHOSEN — SETTLEMENT OF REV. PETER PRATT — 

FIRST MEETING HOUSE— ALARMING SICKNESS. 



During the process of locating and settling the township, 
the inhabitants enjoyed no corporate privileges, nor had the 
town received any other name than that given it by the com- 
mittee who laid it out in 1733. After so many inhabitants liad 
removed into the town as came in the Spring and Summer of 
1739, it became important that they should be invested with 
the usual privileges of Towns, and they should receive a cor- 
porate name. A meeting was accordingly holden, and Captain 
Jonathan Dunham was ap^jointed agent to make application to 
the assembly for a charter, with the usual privileges of Towns. 
The character, principles and expectations of the settlers are 
forcibly illustrated in their petition to the Assembly for an Act 
of Incorporation, which is as follows : — 

To the Honorable, the Governor, Council and Representatives 
in General Court assembled at New Haven, 2d Thursday 
of October, Anno Domini, 1739 ; — 

"The memorial of the subscribers hereunto, being the per- 
sons who, by your Honors' favor were allowed to purchase the 
southernmost township on the west side of the Ousatonic 
River, which we have presumed to call by the name of Sharon, 



HISTORY OF THK TOWN OF SHARON. 29 

liuinbly showeth that the settlers on said tract of laiul arc d.-iily 
increasing in numbers, and that there are at tliis prc'sent time 
twenty-eight families settled there, and a considerable munlu'r 
that are not head of families, and all are united in a desire that 
the plan may have your Honors' favor, protection and en- 
couragement ; that we may proceed with courage and resolution, 
not only to advance our estate, and temi>oral interest, but also 
the interest of religion there, and for that we humbly pray,— 

1. "That we may be formed as a Town, and have the same 
privileges as are allowed and granted to other Towns in this 
Colony. 

2. "That we may have your Honors' allowance to call and 
settle some orthodox minister of the gospel among us. This 
we the earlier ask, because we have a young gentleman now 
with us, in whom we think we can all unite, and who we think 
would be willing to undergo the difficulties of settling a wilder- 
ness country, that he might be instrumental in building up the 
interest of Christ there. Your Honors granting the favors 
prayed for will engage your memorialists ever to pray. 

The petition was granted and the following is a copy of the 
act of incorporation : — 

" Anno Eegni Regis Georgii Secundi 30. 
Connecticut Colony — 

" At a General Assembly holden at New Haven, in his Maj- 
esty's Colony of Connecticut, in New England in America, on 
the second Thursday of October, being the 11th day of said 
month, and continued by several adjournments until the IJlst 
day of the same month, annoque Domini 1739. Upon the 
memoi'ial of the inhabitants of the southernmost town on the 
west side of the Ousatonic river, showing to the assembly the 
number of settlers now in said town, and the circumstances 
they are under, and praying for the countenance and favor of 
this assembly, first in allowing them to be formed as a town, 
and to have the privileges of other towns in this colony, also 
to call and settle some orthodox minister in the work of the 
ministry among them. 

"Resolved by this Assembly, that the inhabitants of said 
town, qualified as the law directs, shall have and enjoy all such 
rights and privileges, and have such powers as are usually 
granted to other towns in this colony and that said inhabitants 
shallhave liberty to call and settle some orthodox minister of 



80 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. 

the gospel in the work of the ministry in that place, taking the 
advice of the ministers of the neighboring churclies, and that 
the town hereafter be called by the name of Sharon. And cajj- 
tain Jonathan Dunham of said town, is hereby appointed and 
empowered to cause the inhabitants of said town to meet in said 
town on the second Wednesday of December next, to choose 
town officers in said town for the year ensuing. " 

Captain Dunham, in pursuance of the authority given him, 
warned the first town meeting, and the town was fully organized 
for municipal purposes. For the information of the pi'esent 
generation, and to show in what way the business of this meet- 
ing was conducted, its proceedings are here copied from the 
records, preserving accui-ately the orthography of the original. 

"The Inhabitance of Sharon aplying Themselves to the 
Genral assembly in October Last Past for Town Priviledges 
Cap Dunham was mad Choice of to Eepresent the Town to the 
Assembly, and having obtained the Desiar of the town he being 
ordered by the Assembly to Warn tlie Inhabitance in order To 
Chuse town officers which Being Dune the Inhabitance being 
met on the 11 day of December In ye yeare 1739 at the house of 
Nath U. Skinner In Sharon And then opened the meeting as the 
Law Dricts 

' ' Cap Dunham Was Chosen moderator 

"Leu Jabez Creppen John Sprague and Cap Jonathan 
Dunham Was Chosen Select men for the year insewing 

" Nath Skinner Was Chosen town Clark 

"James Smith was Chosen Constable and Sworn as the 
Law Directs 

' ' George Way was Chosen Granjuery and sworn as the Law 
Directs 

"Ebenezer Mudg William Tickner Ebenezer flfrisbie and 
Cornelius hamlin Was Chosen Surveys of high Ways and Sworn 
as the Law Directs 

' ' Jeremiah foster Samuel Mudg and Thomas Creppen Was 
Chosen fence vewers and sworn as the Law Directs 

' ' Samuel Comstock Was Chosen Colector 

"Nathl Skinner Jun Was Chosen Leather Sealer 

" Nathl. Skinner Jonathan Dunham and John Sprague Was 
Chosen a Com'tt. to go after a Minister. 

"Nathl. Skinner and Lew. Jabez Creppen chosen a Com'tt. 
to Lay out a Beuriug Place. 



HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. 31 

" It was further voted that a Note or Warning In writing 
set uj) at The house of John Sprague and Nathl. Skinner and 
at Garrit winegars mill Six Days before a town meeting Given 
Reasons of Said Meeting, Siiall be a Lawful Warning for a 
town meeting. 

"farther voted that Swin haven a Ring in their noses Shall 
be accounted an orderly Greater." 

We have seen that at the first town meetings measures 
were taken to procure a minister to preach the gospel to the 
inhabitants. They evidently contemplated the employment of 
a minister in the early settlement of the Town, and such, too, 
it seems was the intention of the Assembly in sequestering two 
rights for the support of the gospel. This aid was afforded in 
order to assist a community which must necessarily have been 
weak and feeble in its infancy, in having a supply of the Word 
of Life, and the benefit of religious ordinances. Prompted by 
these encouragements, the first inhabitants of Sharon took 
early measures to settle a minister. The committee appointed 
at the first town meeting made application to Mr. Peter Pratt, 
of Lebanon, a candidate for the ministry, and graduate of Yale 
College, of the class of 1736, and on the 8th day of January, 
1740, the Town called him "upon trial for some convenient 
time," and laid a tax of fifteen shillings on a right for the pay- 
ment of his services. His labors were acceptable to the people, 
and on the 14th day of March following, he was invited to 
settle over the church and congregation in the work of the 
ministry. The Town voted him a salary which would amount 
to about two hundred dollars per annum.* Mr. Goodrich and 



* Town meeting. Januar.v 8, 17!0. 

Voted that Mr. Peter Pratt shall be called by us upon trial for some 
convenient time. 

Voted that Deacon Nathanitil Skinner, Capt. Dunham and John 
Sprague, shall be a committee to call Mr. Peter Pratt for some couvonient 
time of probation for the settling in the work of the ministry, and tliat 
said committee is authorized to agree with him for nis wages. 

March 14, 1740- Voted to call Mr. Peter Pratt to the work of the 
ministry among ns in order to ordination. 

March 20, 1740. Voted to Mr. Pratt for his stated salary 210 poiinds a 
year in money which is as silver at 29 shillings per ounce, and for this year 
140 pounds, and to rise ten pounds a year until it comes to the 210 pounds, 
and there to stand during the time of his ministry among us. 

Voted, that if Mr. Pratfs necessity calls, and the ability of the town 
will allow it, then to give him more. . „ ,^ _^ ^ 

March 25, 1740. Voted that the day for the ordination of liev. Peter 
Pratt shall be the last Wednesday of April next. 

Voted that Capt. Dunham, Nath. Skinner, Mr. Goodrich, Mr. Sprague, 
Mr. Way are a committee to order the affairs for the ordination ot Mr. 
Pratt. 



■52 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. 

Mr. Sprague were appointed to treat with Mr. Pratt and to 
present to him the offers of the town. These were accepted 
by him, and the time fixed for the ordination was the last Wed- 
nesday in April. It is supposed that it took place at that time, 
and that the services were performed in a private dwelling, as 
no place of public worship had been provided at that time. 

The records of the Congregational Church in Sharon for the 
first fifteen years are lost. The exact date of the organization 
of the Church cannot, therefore, be determined. At a meet- 
ing of the Church in Westchester, a parish of Colchester, Conn., 
on the 28th day of April, 1740, Nathaniel Skinner (deacon), 
Jonathan Dunham, Jabez Crippen, Benjamin Fuller, Nathaniel 
Skinner, Jr., Thomas Skinner, David Skinner, Jonathan Skinner, 
Jabez Crippen, Jr., Samuel Mudge, Micah Mudge, Cornelius 
Hamlin, Alexander Spencer and Josiah Skinner "received 
letters of recommendation, in order to be embodied into a 
Church at Sharon, where they have for some time resided." 

At a meeting of the same Church, on May 18, 1740, (about 
three weeks after the former meeting) Jeremiah Foster, Mary 
Foster, Mary Skinner, Content Fuller, Elizabeth Skinner, 
Abigail Mudge, Mary Hampton, Mary Dunham, Mary Skin- 
ner, Jr., Eunice Mudge, Elizabeth Dunham, Lydia Crippen, 
Deborah Crippen, Thankful Crippen, Waitstill Heath, Abigail 
Skinner, Patience Fuller, Hannah Dunham and Martha Mudge 
received a letter of recommendation ' 'to the Church in Sharon, " 
which indicates that this Church was oi'ganized between the 
meetings of the church in Westchester. 

The ministry being thus established, the next business in 
order was to provide a place of public worship ; and to this 
object the attention of the Town was soon turned. On the 23d 
of June, 1740, the town voted to build a meeting house at some 
convenient time, 55 feet by 45, and 22 feet posts. This would 
have been a large house for those times, and as it was probably 
fovmd to be more expensive than the circumstances of the town 
would authorize, it was abandoned for that year. In the mean- 
time the inhabitants met alternately on the Sabbath, for public 
woi'ship, at the house of Captain Dunham, and at the house of 
Mr. Pardee, and in the milder season of the year the meetings 
were held in Mr. Pardee's barn. For tempory accommodation, 
and until a better house could be provided, it was voted, in the 
Spring of 1741, to build a meeting house of logs or poles, 36 feet 



HISTORY OF Tin: TOWN OK siiAiioN. ;j;j 

by 20. Where this temporary log meeting house stood is not now 
known It was used but a short time, as while it was building, 
measures were being taken by the town to build a house, which 
should be of sufficient dimensions to accommodate all the wor- 
shippers. It was voted that the new house should be 45 feet by 35, 
and 30 feet posts, and Capt. Dunham, Ensign Spragne and Ser- 
geant Pardee were appointed a committee to superintend its erec- 
tion. A committee appointed by the government, consisting of 
John Bostwick, of New Milford, and Samuel Lewis and John 
Mills of Kent, were called upon to fix its location, and it was de- 
termined that it should be erected in the middle of the street, 
directly opposite the tavern now kept by Mr. Perry Loucks. The 
building was commenced early in the spring of 1742, and in the 
course of the season it was so far completed, as that public meet- 
ings were held in it in the following October. But it was five or 
six years before it was finished and glazed. The Hon. Philip 
Livingston, who had become a large owner of real estate in the 
town, generously offered to give a bell for the use of the meeting 
house, pi'ovided the town would build a steeple. It was voted 
that this should be done at the north end of the meeting house, 
and Messrs. Dunham, Pardee and Hutchinson were appointed a 
committee to return the thanks of the town to Mr. Livingston 
for his munificent offer. For some reason the bell was never 
procured, nor t.lie steeple erected. The meeting house stood 
about twenty-five years, when it was foimd too small for public 
accommodation. 

The first year (1739) was one of great promise and prosperity. 
The population rapidly increased and the productions of the soil 
richly rewarded the toil of its cultivators, but the month of May 
1742 was marked by the commencement of a wasting sickness 
which overwhelmed the settlers with distress and threatened the 
entire breaking up of the enterprise. This calamity put it out of 
their power to comply with the condition of their bonds, and in 
their extremity they made application to the Assembly for relief. 
The following is a copy of their memorial, drawn up by the Rev, 
Mr. Pratt, which is a remarkable specimen of suppliant elociuence. 
It was addressed to the Assembly in the usual way and proceeded 
to say : 

" That notwithstanding the smiles of Divine Providence upon 
us at our first settling in this place, in which we thankfully en- 
couraged ourselves, vet so numerous have been the frowns, and 



34 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. 

SO heavy the strokes of the Almighty in the year past, 
and so dark is the countenance of our present state, that we have 
not only been brought to uncommon continued distress, but even 
to despair of future prosperity unless relieved by your Honors' 
favor. In May last it pleased tlie Almightj^ to send a nervous 
fever among us, which continued eleven months, in which time 
more than one hundred and twenty persons were long confined 
with it, some have lain more than one hundred daj^s. some eighty, 
many sixty, and few have been capable of business in forty days 
after they were seized with the distemper. By reason of which, 
many were unable to plow for wheat in the year past, many who 
had plowed were unable to sow, and some who had sowed una- 
ble to secure it by fence, and much wheat that was ripe, rotted 
on the ground. By reason of the sickness of the people, which was 
not only exceeding expensive to the persons and families sick, but 
also to those who were in health, their time being taken up in 
tending those that were sick, many of whom were obliged to suffer 
for want of help. Twenty are dead, many widows and fatherless 
children are left among us, not a man but that has sustained loss 
— many who were more than level with the world are impover- 
ished. The distress of the winter has been exceeding great and 
impoverishing. Our cattle are so destroyed that there Is not a 
cow left to half the families in the town, and now many men are 
obliged to leave their business at home and go twenty miles to 
labor for bread and corn, and so must continue to do until har- 
vest, so that we are not now able to take up our bonds without 
being wrecked in our estates, some torn, others quite broke, so 
that not above three-quarters of us can save our home lots and 
pay our purchase. Neither can we maintain our minister or 
build our Meeting House, but must quit the place, or become 
tenants, we and our children, to neighboring rich merchants who 
are seeking our lands, but at their own price. 

" Therefore, we, a withering branch of this commonwealth, 
and the poor of this colony, would now humbly pray for your 
Honors' assistance and gracious notice. And as our industrious 
improvements have been the admiration of all who have beheld 
our settlement, and far exceeding any other instance of late plan- 
tation, weti'ust we may not after three years' toil, sickness and 
want, be turned off from our lands ; become tenants, or seek another 
settlement under worse circumstances than when we settled in 
this place, which tliat your Honors would take into your wise 



HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SIIAHON. m 

consideration, and upon it f^raciously act toward ns. is tlio car- 
nest and necessary prayer of your Honors' dutiful and humble 
memorialists." 

The second application was successful to this extent, that the 
time for the payment of the bonds was extended some two or 
three years, and thus the settlers were able to meet their pay- 
ments without further embarrassments. 

These memorials explain how Philip Livingston and Martin 
Hoffman became large owners of real estate in Sharon at an early 
day, a fact which befoi'e was obscure. They were undoubtedly 
the rich neiglihoring merchants referred to in the memorial. The 
representatives of Philip Livingston are still proprietors of the 
common land in Sharon. 

The first death recorded of those residing in Sharon, is that 
oi Miriam, the wife of Williavi Goodrich, Jun., which occurred 
on the 22d of April, 1740. 

The following persons also, as appears of record, departed 
this life during the same season, viz. : Asa Rood, David Skinner, 
Mary, wife of Nath. Skinner, Esq,, Deacon Hezekiah King, Ben- 
jamin Fuller, Jonathan Dioihavi, Jim., Daniel Bouton, Daniel 
Bouton, Jim., in all nine persons. 

The first person born in the town after Jehiel Jackson, before 
mentioned, was Sarah Bates, daughter to John and Anna Bates. 
She was afterwards the wife of John Randall, and lived to a very 
advanced age. The first marriage in the town w^as that of 
Elnathan Goodrich to Elizabeth Showers. It was celebrated on 
New Year's Day, January 1, 1740. 

It is supposed . that Nathaniel Skinner and Hezekiah King 
were the first deacons of the church. Deacon King, however, 
died during the first year, and was probably succeeded by Jona- 
than Elmer. The first pound was erected where Mr. Jay S. Can- 
field formerly lived. It would seem from the votes on this subject 
and also in relation to the location of the meeting house, that 
there was some strife between the inhabitants, as to where the 
centre should be established. Some were for having it fixed half 
a mile south of the place finally established, but the decision of 
the government's committee seems to have quieted all difliculty on 
the subject. 



CHAPTER IV. 



INDIANS IN SHARON. 



There was a somewhat numerous tribe of Indians in Sharon 
before its settlement by the white inhabitants. Their principal 
village was on the eastern border of Indian Pond, in the north- 
west corner of the town, where they had considerable clearings. 
The Indian name of this pond was Weequagnock. There were 
numbers of them too on the borders of the other pond, and in 
the valley of the Ten Mile River. The Indian name of this 
stream was Webotuek. They were never sufficiently numerous 
to prove dangerous to the safety of the settlers, but their dis- 
satisfaction because of the refusal of the proprietors to ac- 
knowledge their claims to a certain quantity of land which they 
insisted was reserved to them in their sale to Thomas Lamb, 
and the agitation of that matter for nearly fifteen years was a 
cause of fear and anxiety to their immediate neighbors during 
that period. The matter was brought before the Assembly by 
a joint memorial of the Proprietors and Indians, presented in 
1742, which will at once give an explanation of the pending 
troubles, and which was in the words following : — 

To the Honorable, the General Assembly of the Colony of Con- 
necticut, in General Court assembled, at Hartford, in said 
Colony, on the second thursday in May, A. D. 1743. 



HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. 37 

"The memorial of Peter Pratt, Nathaniel Skinner and Jona^ 
than Dunham, agents for said town, and Stephen Nequitimamjh 
Nanhoon, and others of the Indian nations, residing in said 
Sharon, humbly showeth — 

' ' That they, the said Stejyhen Nequitimaugh NanJuxm, and 
others of the Indian natives, residing in Sharon, were the 
proper owners of the lands contained in the said township of 
Sharon, and Salisbury, adjoining to said Sharon, and that a 
considerable part of said lands was honorably purchased of 
said Indians, and paid for by Thomas Lamb of said Salisbury, 
and that he, the said Lamb, in negotiating the said purchases 
of said Indians, did take advantage of their ignorance, and as 
tliey have since understood, did obtain a deed or deeds from 
them or some of them for more of said land than ever tiiey 
sold or intended to sell to said Lamb, and particularly the place 
at the northwest corner of said Sharon, where the said Indians 
live and improve, and always designed to reserve to themselves 
for a settlement, besides several other parcels that have never 
been sold to the English ; That the Government's Committee 
have obtained the rights purchased by said Lamb of the Indians, 
and have sold all the lands in the townships of Salisbury and 
Sharon to the propi'ietors of said Towns, who are now improving 
and are entering on the said lands still claimed by the said 
Indians, which has aroused a great deal of uneasiness among the 
Indians, they looking upon themselves defrauded of their 
rights. 

"That many of the Proprietors of Sharon are likewise 
inclined to believe, that the said Indians, who were the proper 
owners of said land, did never, to this day sell to the said 
Lamb or to this government, all the lands in said Sharon or 
Salisbury, but that they have still an honest right to that said 
tract where the said Indians now live, as also to one mile in 
width across the south end of said town of Sharon, and that 
they are willing the said tract where the Indians now live should 
be restored to them and confirmed to the said Indians, though 
the Proprietors have purchased the same of the government. 
Provided they can have it made good to them by other reasona- 
ble satisfaction. 

"Whereupon your Honors' memorialists humbly pray that 
the Honorable Assembly would take the case into their consider- 
ation and would appoint a Committee to repair to Sharon to hear 



do HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. 

and examine and to enquire into the claims of the said Indians, 
and purchases that have been obtained from them either by the 
said Lamb or others, with power to agree, settle and determine 
all matters of difference and controversy relating to the premi- 
ses, and for the quieting the said Proprietors and the said Indians, 
or that your Honors would in some other way, as in your wisdom 
you shall think fit, find a remedy. 

"Your memorialists further show, that there is a very con- 
siderable number of said Indians, living at said noithwest corner 
of said Sharon, and others not far from them, that ai-e desirous of 
being instructed in the Doctrines of the Gospel ; to be taught to 
read the Holy Scriptui'es, and be informed of the way of salvation 
therein revealed ; and that their children may be educated accord- 
ing to Christianity ; which your memorialists also recommend to 
your Honors' consideration, hoping that your Honors will be 
inclined to do something towards their encouragement ; and 
your Honors' memorialists as in duty bound shall ever pray. 
Dated in Hartford this 13th day of May A. D., 1743." 

Upon this memorial a committee was appointed, consisting 
of the Hon. Thomas Fitch, afterwards Governor of the Colony, 
Daniel Edwards, Esq., of Hartford, afterwards a judge of the 
Superior Court, and Robert Walker, Esq. , of Hartford, who was 
a large proprietor of the lands in Salisbury, whose duty it should 
be to investigate the subject matter of the memorial ; and they 
met the parties in Sharon, on the 11th day of October, 1742, and 
heard them by their interpreters and witnesses. 

They made a long and elaborate report in which they gave a 
history of Lamb's purchase ; and believing that the Indians had 
misunderstood the bargain, reccommended that a certain quan- 
tity, not exceeding fifty acres should be set off to them ; that 
some equivalent should be allowed the proprietors, and that some 
provision should be made for the religious teachings of the 
Indians. 

The Assembly approved the views of the Committee and re- 
quested Mr. Pratt, the minister of Sharon, to devote some time to 
the advancement of the spiritual interests of the tribe, but as they 
made no provision to remunerate the proprietors, no final ad- 
justment of the difficulty was effected. The Indian improve- 
ments contained some ninety acres, and besides this, they 
demanded a large tract on the adjoining mountains for fire- wood. 



HISTOKY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. 39 

To this tlie proprietors would not consent witliout a compensation 
from the government, and tlie old troubles returned witli in- 
creased acrimony. 

In 1745 another effort was made to call the attention of the 
Assembly to these Indian troubles. The proprietors of Sharon 
advised tlieir Honors that the Indians were uneasy and restless, in 
view of the state of their affairs, and they added : "We can't but 
think needful for some proper care, in this difficult time, to be 
taken. " 

This memorial was continued in the Assembly till 1710, when 
William Preston of Woodbury, and Samuel Canfield, of New Mil- 
ford, were appointed a committee to lay out the Indian lands by 
metes and bounds. This connnittee, in the prosecution of their 
duties, employed the celebrated Roger Sherman, then a humble 
shoemaker at New Milford, to lay out the Indian lands, in liis 
capacity of Covin ty Surveyor, and to mark out definitely their 
boundaries. All this was accomplished by Mr. Sherman ; but 
nothing was done to remunerate the proprietors, and both parties 
were left to contest their rights as best they could. The Indians 
were stimulated in their quarrel by certain disorderly persons, 
who made them believe they were their special friends, whose 
counsels were prevalent in shaping their course. Under the 
guidance of those persons, they were emboldened to resistance, 
and gave great uneasiness and trouble to the proprietors. One 
VanArenan, a Dutchman, pretended to make a new purchase of 
their lands, and it became necessary to take strong measures to 
prevent open and forcible collision. This state of things portend- 
ed so much danger that Governor Law found it necessary to 
issue a formal Proclamation to the intruders, warning them that 
their Indian titles were worthless, and that the rights of the pro- 
prietors would be protected at all hazards. 

About the year 1750, Thomas Barnes moved into the town 
from New Fairfield, in Fairfield County, and purchased a large 
tract of land in the neighborhood of the Indian territory. In the 
course of a year or two, he persuaded the Indians to sell out their 
lands to him, and took a formal deed of their possessions from two 
of their chiefs, Nequitimaugli and Bartholomew. It was contrary 
to law to take deeds of the Indian proprietors in that way, but 
the Legislature, on the petition of Barnes, confirmed his title, 
and he took possession of the disputed territory, the Indians 
having gone to other parts. They carried with them, ho\ve\er, a 



40 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. 

deep sense of the wrongs they had suffered, and some of them 
were often back among the inhabitants, complaining that they 
had been overreached, and often giving significant hints of the 
resentment which was rankling in their bosoms. The old French 
war commenced about this time, and the stories of Indian atroci- 
ties which were borne on every breeze, filled the whole country 
with terror and alarm. Four persons were murdered about this 
time, between Stockbridge and Lenox, and this, with other 
alarming incidents, produced a veiy general consternation in 
Sharon. 

In 1754 one Thomas Jones had purchased a tract of land near 
the Indian Pond, which had been claimed by the Indians, and 
built a log house upon it. His family were frequently disturbed 
in the night season by what they supposed to be the noise of In- 
dians about the house, and an armed guard was kept there during 
nights for several weeks. A memorial was presented to the 
Assembly, detailing the causes of danger from the Indians, by 
which the settlers were alarmed, and the statements of the mem- 
orial were fortified by the depositions of some half dozen j^ersons, 
who kept the guard, detailing with minuteness the incidents of 
one night. The testimony of one witness was as follows : — 

"John Palmer, of lawful age, testifieth and saith, that some 
time ago I came to dwell, as a hired man, with the above 
named Mr. Thomas Jones, and have been a member of his family 
in the time of the late disturbances, which he has testified about, 
but have not seen any Indians but one night, when I was upon 
the watch with several other men, but have frequently heard 
their whoops and whistles near his house, which noises of the 
Indians I am well acquainted with, having been a considerable 
time a captive among them and released from them last May. 
The time when I saw the Indians near Mr. Jones's was the latter 
part of the Sabbath day night before last. He came and put his 
head partly in at the door way, against a blanket that hung 
before the door. This he did twice. A man near me proposed 
to shoot, but I prevented him, hoping for a fairer shot, but he 
not coming there again, I went to the side of the house and 
looked through a crack between the logs of which the house was 
made, and saw an Indian but a few rods from the house, it being 
clear moon light. I then put my gun through the crack and 
shot, but not haying advantage to take good sight, suppose I did 
not hit him. I then went to a place cut out for a window and 



HISTORY OF TIIIC TOWN OF SHARON. 41 

saw him clearly, and shot again with a gun that was put into my 
hands, and supposed I had killed him, for I thought lie fell 
down, upon which I took another man's gun and went out to see 
what I could discern, but not finding him at the place, scouted 
some time for him, at length discovered him at a small distance 
behind a tree. I endeavoi-ed to shoot again, but my gun missed 
fire. I called to know if any one of the company was near me, 
when one man came to me. He went further in search of him 
and presently had a sight of him, when the other man presently 
shot. Afterwards I shot at him again, but don't know that we 
hit him, except my second shot. I supposed him to be much 
wounded then, for he walked very poorly, stooping near the 
ground, his left hand holding up his blanket to his right side and 
his right arm hanging as if it was broken. But the men all 
coming out of the house after I had shot the last time, I run to 
the house, fearing lest some other Indians might get into the 
house in our absence and kill the women and children, so I saw 
the Indians no more. I saw no more Indians, but one of the 
company said he saw another, which by his account I believe he 
did. I have since seen no more, but heard their whoops and 
whistles as aforesaid. Dated October 14, 1754, and sworn before 
John Williams Justice of the Peace." 

Such is a specimen of the exciting incidents of the early 
years of the history of the Town. The peace between England 
and France in 17G1 pvit an end to all Indian claims. 

There is no tradition or record bearing upon the history of 
the Town, which has any reference to the old French War other 
than these Indian alarms, except the simple fact that Colonel 
Elmore, of the War of the Revolution, was a Lieutenant in the 
service in the previous war. 



CHAPTER V. 



ECCLESIASTICAL AFFAIRS— DEPOSITION OF MR. PRATT— HIS SUB- 
SEQUENT CAREER — LITCHFIELD COUNTY ORGANIZED — 
SETTLEMENT OF MR. SEARLE— ELLSWORTH SOCIETY 
— REV. MR. KNIBLOE — DISMISSION OF MR. SEARLE. 



We have seen that Rev. Mr. Pratt was ordained in April, 
1740, as the first minister of Sharon. The people were well united 
in him, and he settled under fair prospects of a long and useful 
ministry. He was married soon after his settlement to Mrs. 
Mary Metcalf, of Lebanon, and had several children. It would 
seem that the town showed him several acts of kindness, such as 
furnishing him his firewood, paying the expenses of hiring a 
horse for a journey to Lebanon, and in various other ways show- 
ing him marks of their respect and confidence. But a dark 
cloud soon obscured the cheering prospects of Mr. Pratt, and his 
ministry soon terminated in disgrace. It was soon found that he 
was addicted to intemperate drinking, and the most painful sen- 
sations were produced, as this fact, at first only suspected, was 
verified by indubitable indications. It is probable that his 
conduct was borne with for some time after it became evident 
that this habit was growing upon him, in the hope that the 
admonitions of his friends and his own sense of propriety might 
reform him. The first intimation of displeasure on the part of 
the town, which appears on record, is a vote passed on the 9th 



HISTOUY OF THE TOWN OF SIIAKON. 43 

cl;iy of Jiuniary, 171(5, vvhon it was scilinmly votvd that they 
wouUl not abide by the agreement witli him in relation to fur- 
nishing him with fire- wood. His conduct was borne with, how- 
ever, for about two years longer, when liis intemperance became 
so notorious as to forbid furtlier tolerance. A committee 
appointed by the town for that purpose, made a complaint to the 
association of New Haven county, accusing Mr. Pratt of habitual 
and incurable intemperance, offering to ]n-ove the charges pre- 
ferred, and requesting an investigation by the Rev. body to whom 
the complaint was made. Mr. Pratt was cited to appear before the 
association at a place then called Westlmry, now Watertown, on 
the 13th day of October, 1747, to answer to the charges preferred 
against him, and the town were notified to appear and prosecute 
the complaint. The particulars of the trial are not knovvai, but it 
resulted in a deci'ee by the association, that the pastoral relation 
between Mr. Pratt and the people of Sharon should be dissolved, 
and tliat he should be prohibited from the further exercise of 
ministerial functions.* Thus ended the ministry of the liev. 
Peter Pratt. Like others who have been the subjects of ecclesi- 
astical censure, he seems to have been dissatisfied with the result 
and to have made an effort to procure another hearing, in the 
hope of being restored to his former standing in the ministry. 
He invited the town to join him in calling the association 
together for that purpose, and himself offered to bear the expense 



* Town Meeting, Jannary 9, 1746. Further it was put to vote whether 
the town would abide by the original agreement with Mr. Peter Pratt na to 
the article of fire-wood, that is to say, whether they will annually procure, 
cut, and draw home for him his tire-wood, voted in the negative. 

Town Meeting, Sept. 17, 1747. Voted that we will choose a committee to 
send to the moderator of the association; at the same meeting Matthew 
St. .John, John Gay, Lieut. John Pardee. Deaeim Ebeiiezer Jackson, Jon- 
athan Davis, Deacon Ebenezer Frisbie, Jacob Par<in are chosen our com- 
mittee to apply themselves to the moderator of the association for a 
council to consider our grievances, and said committee to malic all 
proof they can of Mr. Pratt's misconduct from the time he has been 
settled in the town until the council sits, in order to be laid before the 
council, and also to lay the same before the council when it comes. 

Town Meeting, Oct. 8, 1747. Whereas a complaint and charge has by 
Messrs. Matthew St. John, Ebenezer Jackson, John Gay and John Pardee, 
been carried to the Rev. association of the county of New Haven, and 
thereupon the modei'ator of the consociation of New Haven county has 
cited the said Matthew St. John, Ebenezer Jackson, John Gay. and Jolin 
Pardee, to appear at Westbury, in the town of Waterbury, Ijetore s;ud 
consociation, upon the 13th day of October instant, at 12 o'clock at the 
house of Mr. Samuel Heaeock, Jun., then and there to prosecute said 
charge and complaint. Voted that the said Matthew St John, Eljenezer 
Jackson. John Gay and John Pardee be our committee to appear accordnig 
to said citation, and to proscunite said charge and complaint at said West- 
bury, and elsewhere, if needful, till the matter be finished. 



44 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. 

of the meeting ; but the proposition was rejected.* Mr. Pratt 
continued to reside in the town for several years after his suspen- 
sion. He had become the proprietor of a large and valuable real 
estate in virtue of his being the first minister of the town, an 
estate which at this time would probably be worth twenty 
thousand dollars, It contained some of the best land in the town. 
His home lot contained more than eighty acres, and included all 
the land on the east side of the town street owned by the late Mr. 
Perry, and on the west side of the street all owned by Mr. Loucks 
and most of that owned by the Messrs Goodwin, extending half a 
mile each way from the street. He owned other large and valua- 
ble tracts of land, in the whole more than six hundred acres. It 
appears, however, that he was embarrassed in his circumstances, 
and that all his real estate was mortgaged at an early day to 
secure debts in which he had involved himself, and to some of his 
more importunate creditors he mortgaged his negro wench.\ In 
1750 he sold his home lot to Samuel Hutchinson, Esq., and it 

*Town Meeting, Dec. 16, 1747. Put to vote whether the town will join 
Mr. Pratt in calling together the consociation of New Haven county, upon 
Mr. Pratt's cost and charge, to see whether they will take off the suspension 
and prohibition laid upon Mr Pratt by the consociation convened at West- 
bury in Waterbury in October last past. This vote passed in the negative. 

tThe following bill of sale executed by Mr. Pratt is copied from the 
first volume of Sharon records: "To all people to whom these presents 
shall come, greetings: Know ye that I, Peter Pratt, of Sharon, in the coun- 
ty of New Haven, in the colony of Connecticut, in New England, for the 
consideration of two hundred pounds in Bills of Public Credit of the Old 
Tenor, received to my full satisfaction of Messrs. Isaac De La Matter and 
Benjamin Hollister, both of Dutchess county, in the Province of New York, 
do sell and convey to them the said Isaac De La Matter and Benjamin Hol- 
lister, their and each of their heirs and assigns, my negro wunch, lalkd by 
the name of Pegg.to be to their use and service, and U\ the iisr :uicl service 
of their and each of their heirs and assigns forever, tli;it is dming tlic life 
of said negro wench. However it is to be understood and is hiruby provided 
that whereas the said Isaac De La Matter and Benjamin Hollister have by 
an obligatory bond, under their hands and seals, well executed, dated May 
the 24th, 1748, with the said Peter Pratt, and at the desire and for the debt 
of said Peter Pratt, jointly and severally bound themselves to Major Mar- 
tin Hoffman of Dutchess county aforesaid, in the penal sum of two 
hundred pounds, current money of the Province of New York, conditioned 
for the payment of one hundred pounds, money of New York, upon the 
21st day of May, which wUl be A. D. 1750, with the lawful niterest of the 
Province of New York, which is seven pounds per cent, from the date of 
said bond till paid ; if therefore, the said Peter Pratt, or his heirs shall 
procure good and sufficient security, and deliver to said Isaac De La 
Matter and Benjamin Hollister, or their heirs, so as to indemnify and 
save harmless the said De La Matter and Hollister, their heirs, &c., from 
the aforesaid obligation, upon or before the said 2l8t day of May, which 
will be A. D. 17.50, then the above conveyance to be void, otherwise to be a 
good and ample bill of sale of said negro wench, to all intents and 
purposes in the law. In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand 
and seal the :25th of .^lay, A, D. 1748. 

Signed, sealed and delivered in pi-eseuce of Peter Pbatt. 

Samuel Hutchinson. 

Nathaniel Ilichards." 



HISTORY OF THE' TOWN OF SUAllON. 45 

is not now known where he afterwards lived during his stay in 
town. His wife died on the 10th day of December, 1755. It 
appears that he was the first clerk of the court of probate for the 
district of Sharon, which was established in 1755. He held the 
office but a short time, and he then returned to Lebanon where 
lie died. He was undoubtedly a man of superior talents, and 
would probably have attained a high standing in the ministry 
had it not been for his unfortunate propensity. He left one son, 
who was a shoemaker and tanner, and who resided in different 
parts of the town, but there are none of his descendants re- 
maining among us. * 

After Mr. Pratt was dismissed, a considerable time elapsed 
before tlie town was again supplied with an ordained minister. 
Various committees were employed and different candidates 
were applied to, but much difficulty was experienced in obtain- 
ing a suitable man. A Mr. Camp was first employed, and 
afterwards a Mr. Richards, and on the 25th day of July, 1748, 
it was voted "that Jonathan Elmer, \ Daniel B rinsi acute, X 
Aaron Hutchinson and Elijah Mason be the candidates to be 
applied to in the order in which they stand. Neither of the 
candidates above named could be procured, but in the early 
part of the year 1749, Mr. John Searl, of Simsbury, was em- 
ployed as a candidate. Mr. Searl was a graduate of Yale Col- 
lege, of the class of 1745, and it seems that his ministrations 
were acceptable to the people of Sharon. On the 3d dmy of 
April, he was formally invited to become the minister of the 
town, and an offer made of 220 ounces of silver as a salary, and 
420 ounces of silver for a settlement. The ecclesiastical consti- 
tution of the colony required, that before a minister could be 
settled, he must be examined and approved of by the association 
of the county, touching his qualifications for the ministry, and 
as a meeting of that reverend body was soon to be holden at 
Old Milford, it was voted that Mr. Searl should be sent there at 

* In 1842, Captain John Wilson, then an aged and respectable citizen 
of the town, informed the author that in the year 1770 he went to Bchool 
to Mr. Pratt, at Greenwich in Fairiield County. He remembers lieanng 
him speak of his ministry in Sharon, aiid the reason he gave tor Ins 
dismission was that the people complained of his being engaged in 
speculations. He was then somewhat advanced m life, and somewhat 
addicted to intemperate drinking. 

t Mr. Elmer was a son of Deacon Jonathan Elmer, of Sharon, and was 
afterwards a distinguished minister at Elizabeth town, New Jersey. 

t Mr. Briiismade was afterwards minister at Washington, Coun., and 
was grandfather to Daniel B, Driusmade of that place. 



46 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. 

the expense of the town, and John Gay was appointed to 
accompany him. The first Wednesday in August, 1749, was 
fixed upon for the ordination, and a large committee was 
appointed to make provision for the ordaining council, which 
met at Mr. Pardee's. Mr. Searl purchased the 23d home-lot, 
being the place now owned and lately occupied by Dr. Robert 
W. Smith, and lived upon it during his ministry in the town. 

The first vote on the subject of seating the meeting house 
was passed soon after the settlement of Mr. Searl. The ancient 
method of constructing churches was, to build pews around by 
the walls, and slips in the centre, and in all cases the gentlemen 
sat on the riglit hand of the minister, and the ladies on the left. 
An innovation was made upon this manner of seating by a vote 
passed on the 19th day of December, 1749. A committee was 
appointed who were directed to seat the meeting house by 
dignity, age and list, and it was further ordered that men and 
their wives should be seated together. Similar votes were passed 
from time to time, as changes in the condition of the society 
rendered a new seating necessary. In one instance the com- 
mittee were directed to seat the meeting house according to age, 
list and quality. 

Up to the year 1751, the towns on the west side of the 
Ousatonic River had belonged to the county of New Haven. 
About this time measures were taken to form a new county in 
this part of the colony, and much contention was had in respect 
to its extent, and in respect to the location of the county seat. 
The people of this town were in favor of a small county, with 
a view to bringing the court house nearer to them than they 
could expect if a large county were formed. Many town 
meetings were had on the subject * and much zeal was mani- 

*T()wn Meeting. Sept. 2, 1751. Voted that we do desire a new county 
in this part of the government. 

Voted that we apply to the honorable assembly in May next for that 
end. 

Voted that we do desire, with submission to the pleasure of the assem- 
bly, thut the limits or bounds may be, on the south, the south bound of tlie 
goveriiincnt's land on the west side of the Ousatonic river, the north 
bouii.ls of Niw :Milford and the soutli bouiids of Litchtield. The east line, 
the last ImiuihI.- of 1 .itrhtl, Id and of ToiriiiLrtoii. and from thence north- 
ward to I he .Massarlius. tr^ line : tln' no) th line, tlu-line between us and the 
Mast^at liu^i. tts ; thr \\rst lino, tlie line Ik twien this government and the 
govirimit lit of New York and that Cornwall be the county town. 

Voted that John Williams, Esq., be our agent to go to the Honorable 
General Asseiuljly upon said business in October next. 

Town I\Ieetint,^ Dec. 17, 1751. Put to vote whether we will send an 
ascnt or agents to Kent, to meet some gentlemen from Woodbury to con- 
sult upon the atlairs of the county. Voted in the negative. 



HISTORY f)F THE TOWN OF SHARON. 47 

fested. All contention ceased, however, upon the t'ornuitioii 
of the county of Litchfield, with its present limits. 

After it was determined, in 1789, to establish the town plot, 
at a place so far distant from the centre of the townshij?, it was 
foreseen that those living in the southeast part of the town 
would be taking early measures to enjoy the benefit of religious 
institutions among themselves. At one of the earli(>st meet- 
ings of the proprietors, a vote was passed, directing tlieir com- 
mittee to lay out highways and lots in that part of the town 
with a view to the establishment of a distinct religious society. 
The town voted, as early as 1753, to set off a new society, with 
nearly the same limits as the present society of Ellsworth 
occupies. * 

The reason why the division of the ecclesiastical corporation 
was so long postponed was that the parties could never agree as 
to the limits of the new society. Those who petitioned that a 
new society should be formed, required that the dividing line 
should run north and south through the whole length of the 
township. The majority of the town, on the other hand, would 
never consent to this arrangement, and thus the controversy was 
continued for near half a century. In 1767, a committee of the 
General Assembly was sent out to examine the situation of the 
town with reference to a new society, and John Williams, Simeon 
Smith, John Canfield, Ebenezer Gay and Samuel Elmer, were ap- 
pointed a committee to wait upon them, but nothing was done. 
The people on the mountain were allowed some privileges from 



* Town Meeting, April 8, 17.53. Upon the motion made by the people in 
: easterly part of the town for a new society, voted that we are willing a 
society should be set off by a line agreed upon by a committee that shall 1)0 



chosen to make such aline. Messrs. Samuel Hutchinson, David Hamilton, 
and John Marvine, chosen to be a committee for the purpose aforesaid. 
Voted that this meeting be adjourned for the space of t)ne hour, and then 
the meeting opened again according to adjournment, and the aforesaid 
committee made a report to the meeting of a line, by them agreed upon, 
for a new society, and it is as follows, viz., beginning at the southeast 
corner of the lot on which Woolstone Brockway lives, being in the south 
line of the township, from thence the line runs noctherly straight to the 
northeast corner of Deacon Frisbie's land, where he now lives, thence 
running according as the highway runs that comes out easterly of and 
near to Jehiel Pardee's house, where he now dwells, and then a straight 
line northerly to the middle of the north line of Caleb Sti'ong's lot on 
which he now dwells, and then easterly, as the highway runs, to 
Deacon Ebenezer Jackson's, then northerly and then turning easterly as 
the highway runs by John Gray's till it comes to where the road crosses 
the Great Hollow Brook, and from thence a due east line till it comes to 
Ousatonic river. 

Voted that the above said report of the Committee is accepted. 

May 3, 1753. It was put to vote whether we will grant the request of 
those who move for a new line, for a new society different from what was 
before granted and it was universally negatived. 



48 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. 

time to time, to enable them to hire preaching in the Winter 
season. A part of their ministerial taxes wei'e abated, and for a 
number of years an annual vote of the town was passed, author- 
izing the minister to preach one Sabbath in each of the three 
Winter months in that part of the town. By this assistance from 
the town, and by individual subscription they were generally 
supplied with preaching four months in the year. The meetings 
in olden times were holden at the house now occupied by 
Charles Dean, known in tradition as the Esq. St. John place. 

The subject of the formation of an Ecclesiastical Society in 
the southeasterly part of the town was agitated, without favor- 
able result till May, 1800, when the Legislature incorporated a 
new society, embracing part of Sharon, and a small part of Kent, 
by the name of 'Ellsworth. The Act of Incorporation defines its 
boundaries as follows : "Beginning at Hart's Bridge, which lies 
across the Ousatonic River, and then southerly, as the river runs, 
to the southeast corner of Sharon, then westerly on the south 
line of the town of Sharon about one mile, to the summit of the 
mountain, and supposed to be the northeast corner of Nathan 
Skiff's land, then south two hundred and forty rods, then a 
parallel line with the south line of the town of Sharon to the 
line of the State of New York, then northward on the line of 
said State of New York to the dwelling house of Perez Doty, 
then northeasterly to the northeast corner of Samuel Peet's land, 
then northeasterly to a maple tree in the fork of the road, near 
Daniel Ackly's, then easterly still to the north part of Stephen 
Parsons' dwelling house, from thence northeasterly to said Hart's 
Bridge." The first meeting house erected for the use of this 
society was located near the cemetery on the Ellsworth turnpike, 
but it was removed to its present location, and the vote of the 
parish has kept it there, although the subject of its return to the 
former site, was once seriously agitated. A new 

meeting house was erected in 1838, which was occupied by the 
society until the 17th of January, 1847, when in the night season 
it was consumed by fire— Sabbath worship had been held in it the 
previous day, and it is supposed that it took fire from want of 
proper care in the person having charge of the building. A new 
meeting house was built the next year, which is still occupied by 
the society as its place of public worship. The Congregational 
Church in Ellsworth was organized on the 15th day of March, 
1803, by an Ecclesiastical Council of which the Rev. Peter Starr, 



HISTOKY OF TFIK TOWN OF SHARON. 49 

of WaiTen, was moderator. The following is a list of the mem- 
bers embraced in the original organization, and of thi' cliuiciies 
from which they were received into the newly organized cluirch : 

Samuel Young, from Church in Sharon. 
Martha Young, from Church in Sharon. 
Ebenezer Everett, from Church in Sharon. 
Lucy Everett, from Church in Sharon. 
Timothy St. John, from Church in Sharon. 
Anna Rice, from Church in Sharon. 
Silas Newton, from Church in Kent. 
Bathsheba Newton, from Church in Kent. 
Enoch Parsons, from Church in Sharon. 
Abigail Parsons, from Church in Sharon. 
Stephen Skitf, from Church in Kent, 
Dennis Skiff, from Church in Kent 
Mary Chaffee, from Church in Sharon, 
Anna Studley, from Church in Sharon. 
Phinehas Benjamin, from Church in Sharon, 
Jemimah Benjamin, from Church in Sharon. 
Benjamin Young, from Church in Sharon. 
Mehitable Young, from Church in Sharon. 
Joel Chaffee, from Church in Sharon, 
Dolly Chaffee, from Church in Sharon. 
Calvin Peck, from Church in Greenwich. 
Betty Peck, from Church in Greenwich, 
Rebecca Foster, from Church in Sharon. 
Prudence Frink, from Church in Sharon. 
Hepsibah Swift, from Church in Kent 
Esther Skiff from Church in Kent. 
Silas St. John, from Church in Sharon. 
Abigail St. John, from Church in Sharon. 

The following named clergymen have been pastors of the 
Church : 

Daniel Parker, ordained May 26, 1802. 
Orange Lyman, ordained August 26, 1813. 
Frederick Gridley, ordained June 7, 1820. 
John W. Beecher, installed Dec. 1, 1841. 
Wm. J. Alger, ordained Feb. 4, 1852. 
Robt. D. Gardner, installed June 9, 1858. 
John D, Stevenson, ordained Oct. 26, 1875. 



50 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. 

The following is a list of the Deacons : 
Silas St. John, chosen July 1, 1802. 
Abel Woodward, chosen May 3, 1805. 
Amos Seymour, chosen Sept. 6, 180(i. 
Jabez Swift, chosen Jan. 17, 1812. 
Calvin Peck, chosen July 3, 1829. 
Nathan Dunbar, chosen June 2, 1839. 
Abel C. Woodward, chosen June 2, 1839. 
William Everett, chosen June 2, 1839. 
Gibbs W. Skiff, chosen March 4, 1859. 

[The following ministers have served the church as stated 
supply since Rev. Mr. Stevenson : 

Rev. Erwin C. Hull, March, 1880— Feb., 1885. 

Rev. Robert Sharp, June, 1885— Oct. 1, 1885. 

Rev. John H. Mueller, June, 1886— Sept. 26, 1888. 

Rev. E. Chalmers Haynes, July 26, 1889— June, 1890. 

Rev. Idrys Jones, May 3, 1891— Nov., 1892 

Rev. Evore Evans, May, 1895— Oct. 1, 1897. 

Rev. Giles F. Goodenough, Jan. 1, 1898. 

The following have been chosen deacons since 1876 : 

Charles B. Everitt, June 17, 1881 ; re appointed July 11, 1886. 

Everitt S. Dunbar, July 2, 1881 ; re-appointed July 11, 1886. 
(died July July 22, 1892.) 

Albert L. Hall, July 1, 1894. 

Charles C. Dean, July 1, 1894. 
The 3d day of July, 1900, will complete one hundred years since 
the Ellsworth Ecclesiastical Society was organized. — Publisher.] 

Another religious society was formed at an early day at the 
south part of the town, embracing inhabitants of both colonies. 
The meeting house stood near the colony line, and was known for 
many years by the name of the Round Top Meeting House. The 
Rev. Ebenezer Knibloe was its minister for more than twenty- five 
years. This gentleman was from Scotland. During the rebellion 
in that country, in the year 1745, he favored the interests of the 
Pretender, and upon the defeat of the forces of that unfortunate 
prince, Mr. Knibloe removed to this country. He first settled 
on the west part of Philli^ys Patent, in Putnam county. New 
York, but after a stay there of about two years, he removed to 
this town and gathered the church and society at the Corner. 
He lived at the place formerly occupied by his grandson, Philo 
Knibloe. He was a sound, sensible man, a good preacher, and 



HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. 51 

apparently a sinc'(>re Christian. At the commencement of the 
revolutionary war, lie rather favored the pretensions of tlie 
British liing, for which reason his congregation became dis- 
affected, and he relinquished ministerial performances. He died 
of consumption on the 2()th day of December, 1785, at the age of 
fifty-six. The Round Top Meeting House was built previous to 
1755, and in 1786 was removed to the present site of the Oblong 
Presbyterian Church. 

The Rev. Mr. Searl possessed in a good degree, the confi- 
dence and affection of his people. He had been settled over 
them but a short time, however, before his health began to fail, 
and early in the second year of his ministry he was absent a part 
of the time on that account. The town employed other preachers 
to supply the pulpit during the interruption of his labors, in the 
hope that his health might be restored and his ministry continued. 
His health, however, continued to decline to such a degree, that 
he deemed it his duty to withdraw from pastoral performances, and 
on the 4th day of June, 1754, he was dismissed with the reluctant 
consent of the town. * Thus in the short space of fifteen years 

* Town Meeting, Sept. 6, 1753. Deacon Ebenezer Jackson and Deacon 
Ebenezer Frisbie chosen a committee to endeavor to obtain preaching 
among 118 for the space of two months from this time. Mr. Searl having 
agreed to relinquish his salary for that purpose. Voted that said com- 
mittee advise with the Rev. Mr. Searl to whom to apply. 

Town Meeting, April 8, 1754. Put to vote whether, considering Mr. 
Searl's infirm state of health, we are willing that he should be absent from 
us for the space of half a year from this time, the whole or such part of the 
time as he shall think best, in order to use means to recover his health, 
and to pay him a salary for the same time, upon his endeavoring to procure 
for us as much assistance from the neighboring ministers as they shall be 
willing to afford. Passed in the negative. 

Voted that Capt. Matthew St- John, Messrs. Nathaniel Skinner, Jona- 
than Hunter, Thomas Barnes, and David Hamilton be a committee to go 
and discourse with Mr. Searl, and see if he will make some abatement of 
some part of his salary for that time when he shall be absent, and to make 
report to this meeting at such time as it may be adjourned to. 

Town Meeting, April 18, 1754. Upon a motion made by the Ilev. Mr. 
Searl to the town in town meeting, that considering his low and_ infirm 
state of health he has had thoughts of applying to the consociation in May 
next for advice whether it be not best for him to be dismissed from his 
pastoral relation to this church and people, and also to apply to said 
consociation for a dismission upon condition they judge it best. Voted 
that if Mr. Searl does make up his mind as abovesaid, that Lieut. John 
Pardee be a committee to accompany him, and to represent and act for this 
town at said consociation and to hear their determination. 

Town Meeting, June 7, 17.54. Whereas, the Reverend Moderator or the 
paid consociation of this county has sent us a notification to appear 
before said consociation at their meeting at our meeeting house, on the 
fourth Tuesday of June instant, to offer reasons, if any we have, why the 
Rev. Mr. Searl. considering his want of bodily health, &c., should not he 
dismissed from his pastoral relation to this town according to his desire. 

Voted that Messrs. John Williams, John Pardee, John Gay, Jolni 
Marvine, and Jonathan Hunter be a committee to represent tins town 
before said consociation at their meeting and to inform thein that wc 
have a dear regard for the Ilev. Mr. Searl, and the thoughts of his being 



r}2 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. 

the ministry in the town was twice made vacant. Mr. Searl soon 
after left the town, believing that his usefulness as a minister of 
the gospel was at an end, and under the apprehension that his 
days on earth would be few. He returned to Simsbury, and con- 
trary to the anticipations which were entertained at the time of 
his dismissal from Sharon, he recovered his health, and on the 
17th day of January, 1758, he was installed minister oiStoneharn, 
Mass., in the vicinity of Boston. He remained in the ministry 
there, until the 24th day of April, 1776, when he was dismissed.* 
The reasons for his second dismissal were assigned in the follow- 
ing words : ' 'The difficulty of the times, whereby there was not 
a probable prospect for the support for his family, but more 
especially on account of his ill health, occasioned by easterly 
winds." He afterwards removed to Stoitg/iton, Mass., where he 
died in 1787. He had one son of the name of Samuel, who grad- 
uated at Yale College in 1781, and who was a young man of 
extraordinary talents and high promise, but who died at an early 
age. Mr. Searl, himself, was a man of respectable abilities, and 
of an elevated standing in the ministry. He was a member of an 
important ecclesiastical council, which assembled at New Haven, 
in October, 1751, to settle some disputes which had arisen in one 
of the churches in that town, and which consisted of some of the 
most eminent clergymen in the colony, to wit : John Graham, 
J('(h (Jidh Mills, Philemon Bobbins, Daniel Humphreys, Ebenezer 
ITA/Vc, FJfii:n- Wheelock, Benjamin Pomeroy, Benajah Case, 
Joseph Bcllmiiii, Samuel Hopkins, James Sproat, Jonathan Lee, 
and Jolm Searl. 

dismissed from us lie witli great weight on our minds, yet considering his 
great weakness and long I'ontinued bodily indisposition, we know not 
what to say uthiiwisc thuii to entreat the venerable consociation to take 
the matter nniKr their ciiiisideration and to determine what they think is 
duty in present eiieunistances, that is what they judge is like to be most 
for the glory of God, and the greatest interest both of the Rev. Mr. Searl 
and of this people. 

Town Meeting, June 25, 1754. Voted that Messrs. John Williams, 
Ebenezer Jackson and Ebenezer Frisbie be a committee to apply to the 
Reverend Elders present, for advice whom to apply to, to preach with us, 
either for present occasional preaching, or to settle with us, and also to act 
upon said advice. 

*A correspondent near Stoneham writes as follows— " From widow 
Rebecca Hays, aged 85, a native of Btoughton, and the oldest person in 
town, I learn that Mr. Searl married Hepsibah Duncan, of Stoughton, 
Mass. ; that he had two sons, Samuel and John, and two daughters, Betsey 
and Fanny. Mrs Hays says he was a learned man, very orthodox, wrote 
very good sermons, and was i^raiid for telling stories. His delivery was 
very dull. She thinks he was ii"t very active in relation to pastoral labors, 
and is of opinion tliat some of his discourses were printed, but is not 
certain. She says that it was tlie (ii)iiiioii at the time that he left Stoneham 
for fear (if the liiitisli. He was net settled in Stoughton, but used to go 
out on iireachiiiLT ami niissiuiiarv tmii-s for a few weeks or a month at a 
time.- It is stated by Dr. Dwiglit, in his travels, that Mr. Searl and the 
late Judge Noble of Williamstown, Mass., were the first persons that ever 
ascended Saddle Mountain, in Williamstowu, the highest peak in Massa- 
chUBSetts. 



CHAPTER VI. 



A HISTORY OF THE MORA^^A^" MISSIONS IN SHARON. 



The diligent and successful labors of the Moravians for the 
conversion to Christianity of the Indians in Sharon, is an item in 
the history of the town well worthy of record. This body of 
Christians established a mission among the Indians in this region 
as early as 1740. Their special fields of labor were at Shekomeko 
{Pine Plains), in New York, and at Wequagnock (Sharon) and 
Schaticook (Kent), in Connecticut. The first minister who 
labored here and established the Mission was the Rev. Christian 
Henry Ranch. He was succeeded in 1742 by the Rev. Gottheb 
Buetner, who labored in the Mission until his death, in 174o, at 
the age of twenty -eight years. He was buried in the field of his 
labors, and his memory is well preserved by an enduring monu- 
ment and an appropriate epitaph. If the fact were not weU 
authenticated as a matter of history, it would scarcely be credited 
now. that the Mission was broken up in 1745 by the government 
of New York, from the beUef that the missionaries were Jesuits 
and Papists, and emissaries of the Pope and the French King. On 
the occurrence of this event many of the Christian Indians of 
Shekomeko joined the tribes of Sharon. Several clergymen 
labored here at stated periods, up to 1749. In that year David 
Bruce, then the missionary here, died and was buried in the beau- 
tiful field of his labor, on the eastern shore of the Indian Puud. 



54 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. 

He was a Scotchman from Edinburgh. He was not a clergyman 
in the Moravian sense, but an assistant. He acted rather as a 
teacher or catechist. He laboi-ed in the Mission at Sharon but a 
few months. As everything relating to his history isinteiesting, 
a more extended notice of him is copied from Loskiel's History of 
Moravian Missioners : 

"Brother David Brvice was now appointed to the care of the 
Christian Indians at Schaticook and Wequagnock, who, since the 
forementioned visit of the bishop, had formed a regular settlement. 
He resided chiefly in a house at Wequagnock, belonging to the 
brethren called Gnadansee (Lake of Grace), but sometimes resided 
at Schaticook, whence he paid visits to Westenhunk by invitation 
of the head chief of the Mohikan Nation, sowing the seeds of the 
gospel wherever he came, but as he was not ordained, Bishop 
Camerhoff, with brother Beyold went again to Wequagnock to 
strengthen the brethren and to administer the sacraments there. 
Twenty Indians were added to the church by baptism. Brother 
Bruce remained in this station till his happy departure out of 
time, which, to the great grief of the Indian congregation, took 
place this year. He was remarkably cheerful during his illness, 
and his conversation edified all who saw him. Perceiving that 
his end approached, he called the Indian brethren present to his 
bedside, and pressing their hands to his breast, besought them 
fervently to remain faithful unto the end, and immediately fell 
asleep in the Lord. His funeral was committed to one of the 
assistants, who delivered a powerful discourse upon the solemn 
occasion to the company present, among whom were many 
white people, who had often heard our late brother's testimony 
of the truth, with blessing," 

So reads the book and so died the missionary. The exact 
date of his death was July 9, 1749. The Missionary at Schaticook, 
in 1753, wrote as follows : "They have permitted me to put a 
stone on Brother David's grave, and enclose it with a fence. " The 
stone was in good preservation in 1825, but has since been broken 
into many fragments. What remains of it is in the possession of 
the Moravian Historical Society of Nazareth, Penn. It contained 
the following epitaph : 

David Bruce, 

From Edinburgh in Scotland. 

Minister of 

The Brethren's Church, 

Among the Indians. 

Departed 1749. 



\ 



HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. 5.") 

The Indians of Sharon having sold their lands in IToG and 
dispersed to different parts of the country, the Mission was then 
abandoned by the brethren ; but a congregation of white people 
built a meeting house on the western border of the Indian Pond, 
on land now owned by Col". Hiraui Clark, and retained the serv- 
ices of one of the Missionaries, the Rev. Joseph Powel, until his 
death in 1774. 

It will be observed that all the missionaries wdio labored here 
were under the direction of the Moravian authorities at Bethany, 
Penn. , from whom they received their appointments. After the 
breaking up of the Mission here, and the death or removal of the 
missionaries, missionary stations were established in parts of the 
country west of Bethany, and for nearly a century the scene of the 
labors and place of the graves of the faithful and devoted mission - 
aries in this region had passed from the knowledge of the 
Moravians at Bethany ; and it was owing to investigations made 
by the Rev. William J. McCord, and the Rev. Sheldon Davis, of 
Dutchess County, that this tield of missionary labor, so interest- 
ing in Moravian history, was brought to their knowledge. The 
Moravian Historical Society, at Nazareth, Penn., on the 11th day 
of July, 1859, determined to mark the resting places of the 
missionaries, by the erection of suitable monuments, and thus to 
revive and perpetuate their memories, so long neglected and for- 
gotten. These monuments were set up under the direction of the 
Rev. Mr. Davis and of Benson J. Lossing, Esq. , and a single mon- 
ument over the remains of David Bruce is for a memorial of him 
and of the Rev Joseph Powel. The inscriptions on that monu- 
ment were as follows : 



(On the north side.) 

Joseph Powel, 

A Minister of the Gospel, 

in the 

Church of tlie United Brethren. 

Born in 1710, 

Near White Church, Shropshire, England. 

Died Sept 23, 1774, 

At Sichem in the Oblong, 

Dutchess Co., N. Y. 



56 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. 

(On the south side.) 

David Bruce, 

A Minister of the Gospel, 

in the 

Church of the United Brethren, 

from 

Edinburgh, in Scotland. 

Died July 9. 1749, 

At the Wechquadnock Mission, 

Dutchess Co., N. Y. 

(On the east side.) 
How beautiful upon the mountains 
Are the feet of him that bringeth 
good tidings, that publisheth peace. 
That bringeth good tidings of good. 
That publisheth salvation. 

Isaiah lii, 7. 

(On the went side.) 

Erected by the 

Moravian Historical Society, 

October 6, 1859. 

Solemn and impressive, as well as instructive services, per- 
formed by the Moravians from Bethany, were rendered at the 
dedication of that monument, on the 6th day of October, 1859. As 
the remains of the missionaries liad been committed to the grave 
without the performance of the cherished rites of that body of 
Christians, it was deemed appropriate that those portions of the 
Moravian ritual which relate to death and the resurrection should 
be employed in the ceremonies. For the same reason the Easter 
Morning Litany which is prayed annually on Moravian burying 
grounds, and the choral music of trombonists, a characteristic 
element of Moravian obsequies, were added to the programme 
of religious exercises. The services were held in the open field in 
which the monument stands, and were performed by the Bishop 
and several Moravian clergymen, with a select band of trombon- 
ists and choir of singers, in the presence of some seventeen 
hundred people. The venerable Bishop WoUe had the principal 



HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. 57 

charge, and his white locks, his clerical costume and his solemn 
and deliberate utterances, with a slight German accent, of the 
various portions of the Moravian funeral ritual, with tlie earnest 
and solemn responses from the people and from the trombonists 
gave an indescribable interest to the ceremonies. After an his- 
torical discourse by the Rev. Mr. DeSchweinitz, in which a 
minute history of the Mission and missionaries was given, the 
following stanzas from the Moravian Hymnal were sung by the 
congregation : 

How sweetly these our brethren sleep, 

Enjoying endless peace, 
The grave in which their Saviour lay 

Is now their resting place. 

Naught can disturb these heirs of life. 

All earthly cares are lied, 
To be with Christ was their desire, 

And now they're perfected. 

To Father, Son and Holy Ghost, 

One God, whom we adore. 
Be glory as it was, is now. 

And shall be evermore. 

And thus ended the solemn burial services. 



CHAPTER VII. 



REV. COTTON MATHER SMITH— CENSUS -CHURCH OF ENGLAND 

MISSIONS — ORGANIZATION OF THE EPISCOPAL PARISH 

— NEW MEETING HOUSE — REV. GEORGE WHITFIELD. 



In the course of the summer of 1754, the Reverend Cotton 
Mather Smith, of Suffield, was employed by the town, to preach 
as a candidate for settlement. He came upon the recommenda- 
tion of Matthew St. John, who had been an inhabitant of Sharon, 
but who had now removed to Suflfield, where he became acquainted 
with Mr. Smith. Mr. Smith was a descendant of the Rev. Henry 
Smith, the first minister of Wethersfield, who came from England 
in 1638.* The mother of Mr. Smith was a daughter of Atherton 
Mather, a cousin of the celebrated Cotton Mather, .and she died in 
this town at a very advanced age. Mr. Smith was born at 
Suffield, October 16th, 1731, and graduated at Yale College in 
1751. He spent the year previous to his visiting Sharon at Stock- 
bridge, Massachusetts, with the very celebrated Jonathan 
Edwards, engaged in the benevolent duties of instructing the In- 
dians. Mr. Smith preached as a candidate for more than a year, 

* In a record of Daniel CuBhing, the third town clerk of Hingham, 
Massachusetts, is tins riitry :—" 31r. Henry Smith and his ^7ife ami three 
sons, and two dan,i,'litii-s, and thrrc iinii s(i-\ ;i nts and two maid servants, 
and Thomas Mayer, caiue fi-oni II ' *i r Hall, in Norfolk, and settled in 
New Hingham 1638.'' Henry Smith had a son lehabod, who was the fatlier 
of Samuel Smith, and this last named gentleman was the father of liev. 
Cotton Mather Smith. 



HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. 59 

and in the meantime boarded with John Gay, Esq., at the; north 
part of the town. He was ordained minister of Sharon on the 
28th day of August, 1755.* He purchased the place which was 

•Town Meeting. Deo. V^. 1751. Vi>ti'il. Tliat Deacon Ebenezer Jackson, 
Deacon Ehcnczcr iM-isl.ir and .John Uillianis. lie a (■..niniittee to see if tliey 
can agree with ^ir Sniitli to |)itaeli witli iis some time longer, and in the 
meantime to advise ^\itll tlie eoniiuittee .f tlu; Association respecting 
giving him a call to settle in tlie nnnistiy witli us, and to make report to 
the meeting at such time to wliieli it ma.v l)e adjourned. 

Town Meeting, Jannarv S, Kf).'). Voted that we will give Mr. Cotton 
Mather Smith a call to settle in the work of the gospel ministry with ns. 

Voted, That otir tornier committee, viz., the two deacons and John 
Williams, Esq- be continued to In onr committee and that they inform Mr. 
Smith that the town have vote<l to give him a call. 

Voted, That said Cimmiittee confer with Mr. Smith, and know whi(;h 
will be the most acceptable to him to have a larger settlement and a smaller 
salary, or a larger salary and a smaller settlement, and make report to this 
meeting. 

Voted, That we desire, and will make application to the General 
Assembly in May next, for a Probate District iu this northwest part of 
this county. 

Town Meeting, January 15. 17.55. Voted, That we will make such 
proposals to Mr. Cotton Mather Smith, to encourage him to settle with us 
in the gospel ministry, as shall be equivalent to the terms on which Mr. 
Searl settleil with us. in such form as we shall afterward conclude upon. 

Voted, That we will give to 3Ir. Smith iHQ ounces of silver, or equivalent 
in old tenor Bills, for a settlement, to be paid in three years after settle- 
ment : viz., 140 otmces, or an equivalent in old tenor bills, annually for 
three vears. 

Voted, That we will give to said Mr. Smith 220 Spanish dollars, or an 
equivalent in old tenor bills, for his yearly salary. 

Voted, That the committee last chose to treat with Mr. Smith, be con- 
tinued to be a committee to make the aforesaid proposals to him in the 
name of the town and desire his answer. 

Town Meeting, May 2.3, 1755. Voted, That we persevere iu our desire to 
have Mr. Smith settle with us in the work of the Gospel ministry, and 
would have this our desire manifested again to him, and also that he be 
informed that we take a grateful notice of what he has now offered to this 
meeting, and also that the Reverend Association of this county be in- 
formed of this our desire, and therefore chose John Williams, Esq., as our 
agent or representative to go to said Reverend Association, at their meet- 
ing in New Milford, on Tuesday next, to inform them of it, and to ask their 
farther advice in this matter. 

That part of Mr. Cotton Mather Smith's answer to the town's call, given 
in town meeting, and signed with his hand, May 2.3d, 1755, respecting our 
proposals for his settlement and salary, was in the words following: viz., 
" as to the settlement and salary you have voted me. I have nothing to 
ob.iect against 'era, but esteem the olfer generous and honorable, and as it 
will come heavy upon some, perhaps, to pay salary and settlement together, 
so I have thought of releasing part of the payment of my salary toi- a 
time, to be paid to me again when you have finished the payment of the 
settlement, and this I propose to have done in the following manner : the 
first vear I shall allow vou out of the salary you have voted me, 40 dollars, 
the 2d, 30 dollars, the 3d year 15, the 4th year 20, to be repaid to me again, 
the 5th year 20 more, the 6th year 20 more, and the 25 dollars that remain 1 
am willing that the town should keep 'em for their own use.— From the 
original. Entered per John Williams, Register. 

Town Meeting, June 12, 1755. Voted, That we comply with the advice of 
the Reverend Association, respecting the day of the ordination ot Mr. 
Cotton Mather Smith to be the Pastor of this church and people, and 
accordingly appoint the 28th day of August next for that purpose. 

Voted, That Messrs. John Gay, John Pardee, and John Marvine be a 
committee to make needful provisions for the ordaining council, and such 
other gentlemen as shall be thought best to have entertained at the cost 
of the town. » 



60 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. 

owned by his predecessor, Mr. Searl, the same which is now 
owned by his great-grandson, Dr. Robert W. Smith. He was 
married, soon after his settlement, to Mrs. Temperance Gale, 
widow of Dr. Moses Gale, of Goshen, N. York, and daughter of 
liev. William Worthington, of the parish of Westbrook, in Saij- 
brook. Mr. Smith was the minister of Sharon for more than fifty 
years, and during the whole of that period occupied a large 
space in pvibHc affairs. Probably no mmister ever had, in a 
greater degree, the confidence and affection of his people. He 
was never spoken of by those who knew him, but with the most 
unqualified respect and veneration. 

A census of the colony was taken in 1756, and the popula- 
tion of Sharon was found to be 1196, about one-half of the present 
number of inhabitants. 

From the first settlement of the town, there had been sev- 
eral families of the Communion of the Church of England, as 
it was called, before the Revolutionary war, but they were 
never sufficiently numerous to form a separate congregation, or 
to maintain public worship, until about the year 1755. On the 
14th day of April, of that year, leave was given, by the town, 
to those of that communion, ' ' to erect a church at the corner 
of the highways that come from the upper end of the town 
and the Iron Works Hollow." This was at the head of the street, 
near Captain King's. This building was erected, and stood for 
nearly forty years. It is mentioned as a singular circumstance 
in regard to its construction, that its external covering was a 
coat of mortar. Public worship was maintained in it for a 
number of years ; the desk being supplied by missionaries sent 
out by the "Honorable Society for Propagating the Gospel in 
Foreign Parts." The first of the missionaries who labored here 
was the Rev. Ebenezer Dibble, whose permanent residence Avas at 
Stamford, but who had the care of many of the churches in the 
western part of the colony. After Mr. Dibble, the Rev. Solomon 
Palmer and the Rev. Thomas Davies had the charge of the 
church, in connection with those at New Milford, Roxbury, New 



Voted that the same committee take care to prop and well brace up the 
galleries before said day of ordination- 
Town Meeting, August 20, 1755. Voted that Lieut. Caleb Jcwitt, Lieut. 
Stephen Calkin, and Jonathan Gillett be a committee to procure materials 
for, and to erect a scaffold at the north end of the meeting house, for the 
ordaining council to ordain Mr. Smith upon, or if it should be wet weather, 
to prop and well secure the galleries- 



HISTORY OF THE TOWN OK SHARON. 61 

Preston, and New Fairfield. * The leading churchmen in the 
town were Messrs. Joel Harvey, Job Gould, Elnathan Goodrich, 
John Pennoyer, Simeon Rowley. Samuel Hitchcock, Solomon 
Goodrich, and perhaps some others. At one time during his 
ministry, Mr. Davies reported the number of families belonging 
to the parish to be twenty-two, and the number of communicants 
to be nineteen. During the Revolutionary war, the church 
building was deserted, turned into a barrack, and never after- 
wards occupied as a place of worship. Mr. Richard Clark 
succeeded Mr. Davies in the mission, and resided in New Milford 
until the close of the war. It would seem that there was perfect 
harmony and good feeling between the two denominations. At 
the annual town meetings, for a great number of years, Charles 
Gillet was appointed key keeper to the meeting house, and John 
Pennoyer key keeper to the church, and this practice was con • 
tinned as long as tlie church was used for public worship. For 
many years after the Revolutionary war, the Episcopalians in 
Sharon had no regular stated worship. There was no clergyman 
of that faith in the country, except such as had been ordained in 
England, and the few of them who had remained here, and cher- 
ished attachment to the cause of independence, were unable 
to meet the wants of the many congregations scattered over the 

*Mr. Davies was Dorii in Herefordshire, England, on tlie 21st of Decem- 
ber 1T36. His father removed to tliis conntry in 1745, and settled in what is 
now called Davies Hollow, in the town of Washington, then a part of 
Litchlield. He graduated at Yale College in September. 1758, and in 1761 
sailed for England for holy orders. He was ordained Deacon by the 
Archbishop of Canterbury on the 23d of August and on the following day 
was ordained Priest by the same Prelate. The following is a copy of the 
records of his appointment as a missionary as taken from the Records of 
the Society :—" Agreed, the 18th of September, 1761, that Mr Davies be 
appointed missionary to the churches at New Milford, Koxbury, Sharon, 
Preston, and New Fairfield in Litchfield county, Conn." Mr. Davies em- 
barked immediately after this, for this country, and entered immediately 
on his ministry to the above named churches. On the 1st day of April, 
1762, he was married to Miss Mary Harvey, daughter of Mr. Joel Harvey, 
of Sharon, by whom he had two children, one of whom, William Davies, Esq., 
lived at Poughkeepsie, N, Y. The other was the wife of Jonathan Burrall, 
Esq., of Canaan, Conn. Mr Davies died suddenly at New Milford, on the 
I2th day of May, 1766, in the .30th year of his age. The following is a copy 
of his epitaph :— 

In memory of the Rev. Thomas Davies, 

A faithful servant of Jesus Christ, 

An active, worthy Missionary, 

From the venerable society in England, 

Who departed this life May 12, 1766, 

In the 30th year of his age. 

He met death with the greatest Christian fortitude. 

Being supported by the rational hope 

Of a blessed immortality- 

The sweet remembrance of the .iust 

Does flourish, now he sleeps in dust. 

"Vita bene acta, jucundissima estrecordatio." 



62 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. 

country. The operations of the Venerable Society in England, 
of course, ceased in this country on the establishment of in- 
dependence, and it was many years before measures could be 
adopted for the supply of clerical services to the congregations 
of that faith. There is no known record or tradition that Episco- 
pal worship was celebrated in Sharon for twenty years after the 
Revolution. The nearest places of worship were at Litchfield 
and New Miiford. There were several families in the town who 
conformed to that church, but they were never organized as a 
legal ecclesiastical corporation, until the formation of the present 
society in 1809. The missionaries from the society in England 
seemed to have had and maintained a very careful ecclesiastical 
organization in each parish, as their reports to the parent society 
detailed with great accuracy the number of families, births, 
deaths, baptisms, marriages and membership in the different 
parishes under their care, and in fact, every memorial they have 
left is a testimony to their great fidelity in their several callings. 
In 1809 the number of Episcopal families m Sharon had inci-eased 
to about twenty, and it was deemed expedient that they should 
be organized into a legal corporation under the laws of the State, 
so that they could be empowered to hold property, lay tax, and 
enforce other legal rights. A legal warrant was issued on the 
18th day of May, 1809, by General Augustine Taylor, a Justice of 
the Peace, commanding him to summon sundry persons, named 
in the warrant, to meet at the Academy in Sharon, on the 27th 
day of the same month, "to form and regularly organize them- 
selves, as an ecclesiastical society of the order and denomination 
called Episcopal, and to choose the proper officers for the 
society." 

At the meeting thus warned, the society was duly organized 
according to the ritual of the Protestant Episcopal Church of the 
United States. The following named persons were the first 
members of the society : — 

David Lambert, Simon Blackman, 

Samuel Jarvis, Jr. David Parsons, 

Asa Hitchcock, Israel Camp, 

Barnabas Tobey, William Chapman, 

Luther Gay, Daniel Patchen, 

Thomas S. Barnum, Peter W. Smith, 

Simon Beebe, Abel Hall, 

Isaac Daw, John Griswold, 

Samuel R. Gager, Rufus Wright. 



HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. 0:5 

The first full board of church olFicers was elected at an 
adjourned meeting, held May 5th, 1810. That board was con- 
stituted as follows : — 

Israel Camp, Clerk. 

Thomas S. Barnum, / irr,,^„ 

David Lambert, } hardens. 

Thomas S. Barnum, 'Treasurer. 

Dr. John Sears, Collector. 

Samuel R. Gager, 1 

Isaac Daw, t- j. 

Asa Hitchcock, I ^^^trymea. 

Samuel Jarvis. J 

David Lambert, Delegate to Convention.^. 

The Rev. Sturges Gilbert was employed soon aftc^r the 
society was organized to perform clerical services, in connection 
with a like engagement at Kent, where he resided, he conducting 
public worship at each place on alternate Sundays. The place of 
worship here for two or three years was at the Academy, which 
stood on the present site of the Sharon hotel. The upper room 
of the building was fitted up for the purpose, and was sufliciently 
large to accommodate the worshipers. 

In 1812 the first steps were taken towards the erection of a 
church building. Ebenezer Dibble, of Pine Plains, N. Y., Col. 
Reuben Warner, of New Milford, and Moses Seymour, Esq., of 
Litchfield, were chosen by this society to establish the site, and 
such progress was made, in raising funds, that at the close of 
1813, the present commodious building had been erected, and 
temporary interior accommodations furnished, so that public 
worship was celebrated in the church early in 1814. It was not 
furnished within until 1819, when it was completed in a neat 
and comfortable state. It has undergone several modifications 
since, to conform to the conditions of public taste in regard to 
church architecture. It was dedicated by Bishop Brownell, with 
solemn ceremonies, on the 24th day of November, A. D. 1819. 

Rev. Ebenezer Dibble served here as a missionary fi'om the 
Venerable Society in England, commencing in 1754. 

Rev. Thomas Davies, from 1763. The following clergymen 
have served as rectors of the Church in Sharon from the dates 
indicated below : — 

■ Rev. Stvu-ges Gilbert. 

1818 " George B. Andrews. 

1833 " Lucius M. Purdy. 

1837 " Chas. W. Bradlev. 



64 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. 

1839 Rev. S. T. Carpenter. 

1844 " Martin Moody. 

1849 " Alonzo G. Shears. 

1852 " Ezra Jones. 

1856 " Louis French. 

1857 " John V. Striker. 
1866 " Henry R. Howard. 

" David N. MacDonald. 

1871 " Joseph W. Hyde. 

1873 " Edwin J. K. Lassell. 

[The following have served as Rectors of the church since the 
publication of the former edition of the history : 

1875-1878 — Rev. A. T. Ashton, (minister in charge.) 

1878-1881— Rev. Percival H. Whaley. 

1881-1884— Rev. Charles Ferris. 

1884-1893— Rev. Geo. Rumsey. 

1894-(Jan. 1.)— Rev. G. Chapman Griswold.] 

In 1866, the pai'ish erected a commodious parsonage, and 
its close contiguity to the chui'ch makes it a very convenient 
residence for the rector. 

After the town had been settled between twenty and thirty 
years, the population had increased to such an extent, that it 
became necessary to provide a more commodious place of pub- 
lic worship than the meeting house then in use afforded. As 
early as the year 1763, the subject was agitated in the town. It 
was the practice through the colony, at that time, to raise money 
for all public purposes, and especially for building meeting 
houses, by taxation. But it was found to be impossible to pro- 
cure a vote of the town to lay such a tax in this instance, on 
account of the difficulty with the people in the east part of the 
town, touching the establishment of a new society. After 
several efforts to lay a tax had failed, it was determined to make 
the attempt to raise the money by subscription, and such was 
the success of the undertaking, that it was thought advisable to 
proceed with the building in the spring of 1767. It was framed, 
raised and covered, during that season, but it was not finished 
and fitted for public use until the next year. The master work- 
man of the building was Capt. Stephen Sears, a builder of some 
celebrity, and who was active in bringing forward the project of 
building a new house of worship. It was a number of years 
before all the expenses of the building were paid. When it was 
completed, it was one of the largest and most commodious 



inSTOHY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. (io 

cluirches in the county, and for a great many years the congre- 
gation which worshiped in it tilled it to overflowing. The 
committee appointed by the County Court to fix the site of the 
new meeting house were John Hutchinson and Joshua Porter, of 
Salisbury, and Joshua Pierce, of Cornwall, who reported to the 
Court that they " /md located the place about '^9 r-ods northerly 
from the old meeting house near the middle of the street, and niyli 
the dwelling house of Jonathan Oillett, in said Sharon." It 
stood upon a ledge of rocks, now removed, and was used as a 
house of worship for nearly sixty years.* In the year 1824 it 
was taken down, and the present brick church was erected in its 
place. 

On the 18th day of June, 1770, the Eev. George Whitfield, a 
celebrated itinerant minister of the Church of England, passed 
tlirough the town on a preaching tour. He had proceeded up the 
North River as far as Albany and Schenectady, preaching in all 

* Town Meeting, Dec. 30tb. 1763. Voted, that in order to consider a 
motion for building a new meeting house, and for some other business not 
tiuislied, this meeting be adjourned to the third Tuesday in January next. 

Town Meeting. Sept. Ifi, 1766. Voted, that we will build a meeting house 
near the present meeting house, the precise spot to be afterwards deter- 
mined, only that it be not tliirty rods from the present house ; said house 
not to be under the following dimensions, viz. : 60 ft. in length, 40 in width, 
and 25 ft. post, the whole to be under the direction of a committee hereafter 
to be chosen ; said committee not to begin to build it till in their judgment 
they have got enough subsci-ibed to finish it. 

Voted, that if any person or persons shall subscribe, who may within 
the space of twenty years next coming be made a distinct ecclesiastical 
society, or be added to any other ecclesiastical society, he or they shall be 
refunded their proper proportion of what they shall so subscribe, by those 
who shall remain in the possession of said meeting house, which proportion 
shall be after a deduction of a fiftieth part for every year before they are 
set oft', then the remainder to be paid back as aforesaid. 

Voted, that Doct. Simeon Smith, Messrs. Ebenezer Gay and Stephen 
Sears be a committee for the purposes aforesaid. 

Town Meeting, Dec. 9, 1767. Voted, that the old meeting house is grant- 
ed to the committee who are appointed to erect and finish the new meeting 
house, to be improved or disposed of towards finishing the new meeting 
house, so as not to deprive us of meeting in it until the new one is fit to 
meet in, 

December 19, 1768 It being represented to this meeting that stoves are 
frequently left in this meeting house with fire in them, whereby it is much 
exposed to be burnt ; the town taking this matter into consideration, agree 
and vote that no stove shall be left in the meeting house, with or without 
fire in it, and suft'ered to remain there after the meeting shall be dismissed 
at night, or through the night, on the penalty of ton shillings for a stove so 
left, to be recovered of the person or persons that shall leave the same 
according to law. , , i j, , • 

Voted, That young people should not sit together, males and females in 
the same pew or seats in the galleries, and that our informing officers shall 
be allowed to sit where they choose in the galleries for their observation ot 
their behavior who sit there. , .,i ^ , 

Voted, That we will now proceed to choose a committee to seat our 
meeting house, when the seats shall be made in the body ol our liouse. 
Doct. Simeon Smith. Stephen Sears, Ebenezer Gay, Joseph Landers, Jr., 
John St. John, Charles Gillett, and Samuel Elmer were chosen a committee 
for the purpose aforesaid. 



^ 



66 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. 

the towns and villages on the route, and returning, preached at 
Great Barrington, Norfolk, Salisbury * and Sharon. There was 
considerable opposition to his being permitted to preach in the 
meeting house, but the influence of Parson Smith prevailed, and 
the doors were opened. An ari-angement had been made for him 
to preach in the orchard of Mr. Jonathan Gillet, directly opposite 
the meeting house, and now owned by Charles Skinner, in case 
he should be refused admission to the usual place of worship. 
An immense congregation, from this and the neighboring towns, 
assembled on the occasion, and that all the hearers might be well 
accommodated with seats, extensive scaffolds were erected around 
the house. His text was the words of our Saviour addressed to 
Nicodemus, — " Marvel not that I said unto thee, ye must be born 
again. " He discoursed upon the doctrine of the new birth with 
the most astonishing power and eloquence. The concluding 
words of the sermon were a quotation, with a little variation, 
from the last verse of the fourth chapter of Solomon's Songs : 
" Awake O north wind, and come thou sovith, blow upon tins 
garden, that the spices thereof may flow out. Let my Beloved 
come into this garden, and eat his pleasant fruits." Many from 
this town went, the next day, to hear him preach at the Red 
Meeting House, in Amenia, N. Y. , and some followed him for 
two or three days in succession, to hear the word of life from 
this devoted minister of the cross, f 

* The meeting house in Salisbury, at that time, was small, and to 
accommodate the immense number of hearers which came together on the 
occasion, Mr. Whitfield preached in the open air. The meeting was holden 
on the public square near the meeting house. The late Dr. Hamilton in- 
formed Governor Smith that, on his way to this meeting, while descending 
the hill nearly half a mile from the meeting, he heard the preacher 
distinctly announce his text, "Turn ye to the stronghold, ye prisoners of 
hope." 

t These were among the last labors of Whitfield. While on this tour he 
suffered much from the asthma, the disease which very soon after termi- 
nated his life. He spent the night previous to his preaching here with 
Parson Smith, and such was the alarming severity of tlie disorder then 
upon him, that it was thought very doubtful by those who watched with 
him whether he could sui-vive the night. He attributed his restoration to 
such a comfortable state of health as that he was able to preach the next 
day, to the kind nursing of Madam Smith, for which he expressed the 
most deep-felt gratitude. It was, probably, in allusion to his own pre- 
carious situation, that he opened the public exercises on the following day 
by reading the following version on the third psalm by Dr. Watts. Its 
appropriate bearing upon his own feeble condition will be readily seen :— 
Oh, Lord, how many are my foes, Supported l>y tliine heavenly aid, 
Intliis weak state of flesh and blood ; I laid nu- duwn and slept secure ; 
My peace they daily discompose, Notdeathshoiilii uiakemyheartafraid 

But my defence and hope is God. Though I should wake and rise no 

more. 
Tired with the burdens of the day, But God sustained me all the night, 
To thee I rais'd an evening cry ; Salvation doth to God belong : 

Thou heardst when I began to pray, He raised my hand to S'ie the light. 
And thine almighty help was nigh. And make liis praise my morning song. 

Mr. Whitfield died in about three months from this time, at Newbury- 
port, Mass. 



CHAPTER VIII. 



EVENTS OF THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 



We have now arrived at the period of the commencement 
of the Revohitionary War. The citizens of Sharon, almost with- 
out exception, partook largely of the feeling which pervaded the 
whole country, at the commencement of the struggle. Parson 
Smith, like the other clergymen of the day, was a most ardent 
and decided whig ; and his personal influence contributed, not a 
little, to lead the public mind in the right channel. In his public 
ministrations, too, there was mingled much of the stirring 
patriotism of the times. In the prayers which were offered, and 
in the praises which were sung, there were interspersed many 
allusions to the tyrannical edicts of the British King, and to the 
degraded and suffering condition of the colonies. Hymns were 
written, and music was composed, which were used for public 
worship on the Sabbath, the effect of which would seem to be 
to stir up martial, rather than devotional feehngs, and to excite 
in the worshipers the deepest hatred of their oppressors. The 
following stanza was the commencement of one of the hymns 
which was frequently sung for Sabbath worship : — 

"Let tyrants shake their iron rod, 
And slavery clank their Railing chains, 

We fear them not, we trust in God, 
New England's God forever reigns." 

The intelligence of the battle of Lexington was brouglit to 
Sharon on the Sabbath, and Mr. Smith, at the close of the 
morning exercises, announced it from the pulpit, and made 



68 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. 

some remarks tending to arouse the spirit of the congregation 
to firmness and to resistance. Immediately after the congre- 
gation was dismissed, the militia and volunteers, to the number 
of one hundred men, paraded on the west side of the street, south 
of the meeting house, and prepared to march immediately to the 
scene of action. David Downs, Esq., was Caj^tain, James 
Brewster, Lieutenant, and David Gould, Ensign. After further 
deliberation, however, it was determined to send Lieutenant 
Brewster to Litchfield, to enquire more fully into the accuracy 
of the intelligence, and whether the service of the militia would 
be required immediately. Lieut. Brewster * performed this 
mission, and learning that the British had returned to Boston, 
and that no pressing necessity existed for further military aid, it 
was determined not to march, until further hostile movements 
on the part of the enemy should render it necessary. 

The General Assembly was forthwith convened, and a large 
military force raised. One company was raised in Sharon and 
its vicinity. Samuel Elmore received a Major's commission, and 
also had the command of this company. Amos Chappell was the 
Lieutenant. 

The last survivors of this company were Thomas Heath and 
Adonijah Maxam. Deacon Isaac Chamberlain, Capt. Sylvanus 
Gibbs, and Mr. Ebe Everitt, lately deceased, were also members 
of this company, as were William Gray, Samuel Lewis, Jr. , and 
David Goff. This company vs^as attached to a regiment which 
marched to the northward in 1775, for the conquest of Canada, 
under Genei'al Montgomery. Before St Johns was taken, it was 
determined, by Colonels Allen and Brown, to make an attempt 
upon the city of Montreal with a few volunteers, if they could 
be obtained. The troops were paraded, and Allen marched in 
front of the Connecticut line, and invited volunteers to join him. 
Of the soldiers who belonged to Sharon, Adonijah Maxam, David 
Goff, William Gray and Samuel Lewis, stepped forward, and 
offered to share in the perils of the expedition. It was arranged 
between Allen and Brown, that the latter should land on the 
island, below the city, while Allen, with about eighty men, should 
land above the city, and there wait until they should hear the 
firing from Brown's party, when they were to rush on to the 
attack. Allen crossed the river St. Lawrence with his detach- 

* This young gentleman was at this time a clerk in Colonel Gay's store. 
He was originally from Windham, and came to Sharon in A. D 1770, with 
his mother, who was the second wife of Captain Caleb Jewitt. He died, 
much lamented, of consumption, on the 22d day of February, 1777. 



HISTOHY OV THE TOWN OF SHAROX. 0!) 

ment on the evening of the 24th of September, on ii raft, and 
waited in the expectation of hearing the firing from Brown's 
party through the whole night, but he waited in vain. For some 
reason tlie expedition on Brown's part had failed, and the 
morning light found Allen altogether in the power of the enemy. 
This rash adventurer, however, determined to defend himself to 
the last extremity against the seven or eight hundred men that 
were brought against him, and he fought until twenty-five of 
his men were killed, and seven wounded, when he and his brave 
associates, including Maxam, Golf, Gray and Lewis, from Sharon, 
and one Roger Moore, of Salisbury, were compelled to surrender. 
They were loaded with irons, and sent to England, for the 
avowed object of receiving the sentence and punishment of 
traitors. The threat of retaliatory measures, however, on the 
part of the Americans, prevented such summary proceedings 
against them, and after being kept in close confinement, in 
England and Ireland, during the winter, the prisoners just 
named were brought back to New York in the spring of 177(5. 
They were confined, in an old chui-ch, with a large number of 
others, who had been taken during the campaign, at Fort 
Washington, and other places. From this place the persons 
above named contrived to make their escape within a few days 
after they were put into confinement. The old church in which 
they were confined was surrounded by a high fence, and thus a 
little daily out door exercise was allowed the prisoners. While 
enjoying this liberty, William Gray managed to loosen one of 
the long planks of which the fence was made, but did not re- 
move it, and the appearance of things were so little disturbed 
by the act of Gray, that it escaped the observation of the officers 
in charge of the prisoners. Through the opening in the fence, 
thus made practicable, the five soldiers above named made their 
escape as soon as it was sufficiently dark to conceal their oper- 
ations. They had been habited in sailor's clothes during their 
captivity, and on this account they were less liable to be detected. 
They divided into two parties, Maxam and Moore forming the 
one, and Gray, Golf and Lewis the other. The three latter very 
soon found means to land on Long Island, and from thence 
passed over the Sound to the Continent, and returned to their 
fiiends in Sharon. Maxam and Moore had more difficulty. 
They were two or three days in the city before they found it 
possible to leave it, and after landing on Long Island they 
sufiiered much from hunger. After traveling several days, they 



TO HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. 

found means to embark in a boat on the Sound, and to reach 
Saybrook. Their return to Sharon astonished their friends, who 
having learned from Gray and his comrades the circumstances of 
their escape from confinement, and having heard nothing f urtlier 
from them, liad concluded that they had been retaken by the 
British. The last survivor of this band of sufferers was Mr. 
Adonijah Maxam, who died at the age of 97 years. 

In the campaign of 1775, Parson Smith went with the army 
to the northward, as Chaplain to Col. Hinman's regiment, and 
spent several months in the service. 

There was one soldier from Sharon, who joined the expedi- 
tion led by General Arnold through the wilderness of Kenne- 
bec, to Canada, whose name was Alexander Spencer.- He died, 
however, on the march, from sickness. 

The exigencies of the times calling for a large army at the 
commencement of 1776, a large number of men, more than one 
hundred, enlisted fi"om the town of Sharon. One company 
marched for Canada. It was commanded by Captain David 
Downs, already mentioned. The first lieutenant was Adonijah 
Griswold, and the second lieutenant was David Doty. The last 
survivors of this company, which was a large one, were Joel 
Chafi'ee and Adonijah Pangman, of Cornwall. Charles Gillet, 
another member of the company, was killed near The Cedars, so 
called, by a party of Indians in ambush, as he was riding along 
the road, having gone on some business connected with his duty 
as commissarJ^ The other soldiers raised in Sharon for the 
campaign of 1776, were distributed among three other companies, 
and all marched for New York, against which an attack by the 
British was now apprehended. Of one company. Dr. Simeon 
Smith, was captain ; of another, Elijah Foster was captain ; and 
of the third, Nathaniel Hamlin was lieutenant These companies 
were in the campaign of 1776, under General Washington on 
Long Island and in the vicinity of New York, and shared in the 
fatigues and pei'ils of that disastrous period. David Wood, 
Nathaniel Buel, Josiah Coleman, Jabez Jennings, Asaliel Somers, 
John Randall, Jr., and Thomas Ackley were taken prisoners at 
Fort Washington, of whom Wood and Ackley died during their 
captivity, and Buel and Coleman on their return. The British 
having obtained possession of New York, General Washington 
determined to make an effort to dislodge them during the winter 
which followed the unfortunate campaigns of 1776. For this 
purpose a large military force was raised in the fall of that year 



HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. 71 

for two months service, and one company was enlisted in Sharon. 
WiUiam Boland was captain, Hezekiah Frisbie, lieutenant, and 
Azariah Griswold, ensign. As the period of enlistment was so short, 
there was no difficulty in filling the company. The survivors of 
this company were Messrs. Adonijah Maxam and Thomas Heatli. 
New York was not attacked, and the company was discharged at 
Kingsbridge, at the expiration of their term of service. 

The forces that had hitherto been called into the service were 
raised on the authority of the State. To provide for the cam - 
paign of 1777, Congress undertook to raise an army, which was 
called the Continental army ; and of this army, two regiments, 
Swift's and Bradley's, were raised in the western x^art of Con- 
necticut. Of one comjiany, David Strong was appointed lieu- 
tenant, and he enlisted a number of recruits, one of whom, 
David Goodrich, was killed at the battle of Brandywine, in the 
subsequent campaign. Of another company, Reuben Calkin was 
lieutenant, and a number of men enlisted under him. There are 
none now remaining of either company. 

A large depot of provisions and military stores had been 
established at Danbury, and in the month of April, an expedi- 
tion was sent out from New York to destroy them. It was com- 
manded by Major General Tryon, of the British army, and con- 
sisted of two thousand men. They landed at a place called 
Compo, in the southwest part of the town of Fairfield, and pro- 
ceeding through the towns of Weston and Redding, reached 
Danbury, and effected then* object, which was the destruction 
of the stores. The most active measures were taken to spread 
the alarm through the adjacent country, and to collect the 
militia to repel the invaders. On the evening of the 26th of 
April, a messenger arrived in this town bringing the intelli- 
gence, and requiring the immediate marching of such forces as 
could be collected, to meet the enemy. The bell commenced 
tolling, and it was kept tolling through the night, and it was a 
night of great terror and solemnity. Colonel Ebenezer Gay, 
who then commanded the militia in this vicinity, gathered 
together as many troops as could be collected on so short notice, 
and marched for the scene of action ; and on the morning of the 
28th reached Danbury, and finding that the British had retreated, 
pursued them. The route which the British had taken on their 
retreat, brought them on the west side of the Saugatuck River, 
which empties into the Sound a mile or two west of Compo, 
where their fleet lay. They were intercepted in their attempt to 



i.i HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. 

reach the bridge over this stream, by General Arnold, who was 
then in command of a few regular troops, and were guided by 
some tories to a fording place, a little higher up, — and it was 
while they were marching up on the west side of the stream to 
reach this fording place, tliat they were first observed by the 
troops from Sharon, who were endeavoring to reach the bridge, 
and to join the corps under Arnold. As the British marched by 
them on the low grounds which bordered on the river, Adonijah 
Maxam, who had not forgotten the injuries which were heaped 
upon him w^hile a prisoner in England, begged permission of the 
commanding officer to steal down the hill from the left flank and 
shoot a few of them. He was strictly forbidden, however, to 
execute this perilous undertaking. The Briti&h marched by 
unmolested, and our troops took undisputed possession of the 
bridge. The enemy came down on the east side of the river, 
and having taken ground a little to the east of the bridge, fired 
upon our men who were stationed there. Arnold, perceiving the 
danger to which his men were exposed, brought his artillery to 
bear vipon the new position of the enemy, and firing upon them 
over the heads of such of his men as were upon the bridge, soon 
drove them beyond the reach of his cannon. They took new 
ground a little to the southeast of their first position, and it was 
determined to attack them there with small arms. A few regular 
troops under Arnold, commenced the action with great bravery, 
and our men at the bridge were ordered to join them. They 
marched up the hill with a good degree of resolution, to sustain tlie 
regular troops. As they came within the reach of the enemy's 
musketry, however, some one, and it was never known who, 
cried out retreat. As this word was uttered, Lieutenant Samuel 
Elmer, Jr.,* perceiving the effect it was producing, and the 

* This brave young officer was a son of Colonel Samuel Elmer, and a 
lieutenant in the New York line of the continental army. He had returned 
home on a short furlough the very day the intelligence of the invasion of 
Danbury was received in Sharon, and was one of the first to volunteer to 
drive off the enemy. He was buried on the spot where he was killed, by 
two of his comrades soon after the battle. His body was afterwards re- 
moved to the burying yard at Green's Fai-m where it reposes to this day. 

EPITAPH. 

"Lieut. Samuel Elmer, son to Col. Samuel Elmer of Sharon, was 
killed at Fairfield, fighting for the liberties of his country, April 28th, 1777, 
in the 25th year of his age. 

Our youthfiil hero, bold in arms. 
His country's cause his l)osom warms ; 
To save her rights foml u> ciiLraL.'c, 
And guard her from a t\ ra nt -^ i ;i-e. 
Flies to ye field of bloo.l un.l .1. .ah, 
And gloriously resigns iiis bicalli. 



HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. 73 

trepidation whicli was takiiij;- hold of his comrades, st(>p])ed up 
on a stone wall, and cried out, "for God' >i sake, men, don't re- 
treat, don't run, march up the hill and drive them off." He had 
barely uttered these words, when he was shot through the body. 
The only words he spoke afterwards, were addressed to his uncle, 
Mr. George Pardee, who was near him: "Uncle George," said 
he, "I am a dead man." A general retreat of our men then 
followed ; and the British, being left unmolested, marched to 
their shipping, and sailed for New York. 

A large depot of provisions had been established in this town 
early in the war. The storehouse stood a little west of the Messrs. 
Goodwins, on tlie old road that formerly ran through their land, 
before the present turnpike road was established, and a guard 
was constantly kept at the dei)ot during the war. The fate of 
the stores at Danbury caused much apprehension for the safety 
of those here. There were frequent alarms and the citizens fre- 
qviently collected in arms to defend the public property at the 
storehouse. On one Sabbath day, during the sermon, Jonathan 
Gillett, who lived directly oj^posite the meeting house, came out 
of his house during the public service, and proclaimed with a loud 
voice that the British were coming. A dense smoke was seen 
rising beyond Tower Hill, a mountain in the state of New York, 
a few miles southwest of Sharon, and the belief was general that 
the enemy was at hand. Parson Smith was foremost in exhorting 
the people to firmness and resistance, and he entreated them to 
stand firm, not only as soldiers of the cross, but as soldiers of 
their country and of liberty. The alarm, however, proved to be 
groundless. 

The approach of a large British army from Canada, under 
General Burgoyne, and the expedition vip the North River, under 
General Vaughan, filled the whole country with terror and des- 
pondency, and frequent alarms were spread, requiring the 
constant and active duty of the militia. The tories, too, in 
Dutchess county. New York, where they were numerous, took 
courage from the prospect of success which the progress of the 
British arms afforded, and embodied themselves into a formidable 
force. Information was brought to this town during the summer 
that four hundred of them had assembled at Carpenter's, as it was 
then called, now Washington Hollow, and that they were threat- 
ening destruction to all the whigs in the neighborhood. An 
expedition was immediately set on foot to break up the gang. 
Volunteers to the number of fifty or sixty immediately assembled. 
* 10 



li HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. 

They marched for the Hollow, and were joined by others in 
their progress, so that when they arrived at Bloom's Mills, which 
is about four miles north of the Hollow, their numbers amounted 
to two hundred men. There they encamped for the night, and 
marched the next morning to attack the tories. They found 
them paraded in the meadow just north of the public house, and 
marching up with spirit, fired upon them. The tories fled imme- 
diately and as many as could made their escape. About thirty or 
forty of them, however, were made prisoners, and brought to 
this town, and locked up in the old church at the head of the 
street. They were taken to Exeter, in New Hampshire, where 
they were kept in close confinement for two years. This pro- 
ceeding broke up the gang, and no further trouble was had from 
this class of persons during the war. 

A company of light horse, which belonged to Sharon and its 
vicinity, were kept on duty during the whole summer of 1777, on 
the North River, watching the motions of the enemy in that 
quarter. It was commanded by Captain Dutcher, of Salisbury, 
and David Boland, of Sharon, was the cornet of the company. 
The smoke of burning Kingston was distinctly seen from our 
mountain when It was destroyed by the Hessian troops. Adonijah 
Maxam belonged to this company. 

A large number of men marched from this town under the 
command of Colonel Gay, to the northward, to oppose the pro- 
gress of Burgoyne's army, and shared in all the conflicts which 
preceded its surrender.* John HolUster, one of the soldiers from 
this town, was killed at the battle of Stillwater, on the 7th of 
October. 

The intelligence of the surrender of Burgoyne's army was re- 
ceived here under circumstances which produced a deep impi-es- 
sion. Nothing had been heard respecting the state of afiiairs at 
Saratoga excepting that two severe battles had been fought with- 
out any very decisive result. This state of uncertainty produced 
extreme anxiety regarding the issue of the campaign, and many 
trembled at the prospect of defeat and disgrace to the American 
arms. The firmness and confidence of Parson Smith, however, 
never forsook him, and he did everything in his power to rouse 
the drooping spirits of his people. On Sabbath, the day of 

* The following is the record of an adjourned church meeting, holden 
on the 23d of September, 1777 : " Met according to adjoiirnment, but by rea- 
son of a great number being called off into ye service of their country, and 
but a few members met, adjourned to the 4th Tuesday of November next 
ensuing." 



HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. 75 

October, he preached a sermon from Isaiah xxi. II : " WafclniuDi, 
vhdt of the night? the watchman saitfi the morning cometh." The 
discourse was entirely adapted to the condition of public atTairs. 
He dwelt much upon the indications, wliich the dealings of Prov- 
idence afforded, that a bright and glorious morning was about to 
dawn upon a long night of defeat and disaster. He told the con- 
gregation that he believed they would soon hear of a signal 
victory crowning the arms of America, and exhorted them to 
trust with an unshaken and fearless confidence in that God who 
he doubted not would soon appear for the deliverance of his 
people, and crown with success the efforts of the friends of liberty 
in this country. Before the congregation was dismissed, a mes- 
senger arrived, bringing the intelligence of the surrender of 
Burgoyne's army. Parson Smith read the letter from the pulpit, 
and a flood of joy burst upon the assembly. 

During the next year a large part of Burgoyne's army was 
marched through this town on their way to the south. They were 
met here by a i-egiment of continental troops under the command 
of Lieut. Colonel Jameson, who was afterwards somewhat con- 
spicuous in the affairs connected with the capture of Major Andre, 
and who here took charge of the prisoners.* One of Burgoyne's 
soldiers, by the name of Robert Gibbs, a Scotchman from Dundee, 
who was wounded and taken in the battle immediately preceding 
Burgoyne's surrender, was here left by his comrades. He died at 
the age of 94. 

After the campaign of 1777, the seat of the war was removed 
to so great a distance that no further call was made for the militia 
of the town, except for the purpose of keeping guard on the sea 
coast. The burdens and privations of a pecuniary kind, however, 
which are incident to a state of war, were borne by the people of 
this town without a murmur, and the almost unanimous feeling 
in favor of the cause which marked the commencement of the 
war, continued with unabated ardor to the close of it. 

The records of the County Court show that several of the 
citizens of Sharon were delinquent in responding to the calls for 
temporary service in the army, but it does not appear that their 
neglect was owing to any want of fidelity to the cause of the 

* A large proportion of the prisoners of this detachment were Hessians. 
They were subjected to the most severe discipline, and were entirely iiioflen- 
sive. Each regiment was furnished with a chaplain and divme service was 
frequently performed. They encamped here over night, and when they 
started in the morning, the whole body sang devotional innsic on the 
march. Governor Smith informed the author that he, then a lad, followed 
them some miles to hear their singing. 



Il 



76 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. 

country, but it was probably for some reasons which were deemed 
satisfactory to themselves, but which were not deemed sufficient 
by the Court. Abner Curtice, David HoUister, Elijah Pardee, 
and Apollos Smith were each fined £10 and costs of prosecution 
"for refusing to muster and march to the assistance of the conti- 
nental army," about the time of the apprehended invasion 
of this part of the country by Burgoyne's army. Stephen Sears 
was fined £10 for not marching to the relief of Peekskill. Theo- 
dore Elmer, Thomas Hamlin, Jun., Joseph Barrows, Jesse 
Goodrich, Amasa Hamlin, Robert Whitcomb, David HoUister. 
James Henry and Nathaniel Curtis, were prosecuted for the same 
offences, but were able to show good reasons why they had not 
reported for muster, and were discharged. 





CLOCK TOWER ( Opposite Inn.) 



CHAPTER IX. 



INCIDENTAL EVENTS— DISASTROUS FIRE IN SHARON VALLEY- 
SMALL POX — CASUALTIES— SHAYS' REBELLION— EXCISE DUTIES. 



On the night of January 27, 1775, a disastrous incendiary fire 
occurred on the premises of Joel Hervey, in Sharon Valley, 
which destroyed two barns and a threshing mill with a large 
quantity of grain and hay, with seven good horses. Suspicion 
attached to one John Thomas, a transient person, as the perpetra- 
tor of the offence, and at the February term of the Superior 
Court, 1776, sufficient proof had been brought to light to bring 
him to trial. He was convicted, and the following warrant for 
the execution of the sentence passed upon him by the court, will 
show the particulars of the crime laid to his charge, and the form 
of prosecution in those early days. Independence not having 
been then declared the proceedings were in the name of the King. 
To Litchfield County Sherif or his Deputy Greeting 

Whereas the Grandjurors of our Soverign Lord the King 
for the County of Litchfield upon their oath present that one 
John Thomas a Transient person now Confined in the Common 
Goal in said Litchfield not having the fear of God before his eyes 
but being moved and seduced by the Instigation of the Devil did 
at Sharon in said County in the night season next after the 27th 
day of January 1775 Voluntaryly feloniously and of his malice 
forethought with force and arms carry a Quantity of Fire into and 
therewith inkindle and set on fire two Certain Barns and one 
Tlireshing Mill in which there was tlien and there Contained 
Seven good horses and a large quantity AVheat Rye and Hay 



78 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. 

all being in said Sharon to the Value of four Hundred pounds 
lawfull money, all being the property of Joel Hervey of said 
Sharon, and that by means of said Johns Siting fire as aforesaid 
the said Buildings, Horses Wheat Rye and Hay were consumed 
and utterly destroyed contrary to the Law of this Colony and the 
Rights of mankind, and Said John Thomas being brought before 
this Court and araigned for Tryal and by a Verdict of the Jury 
was found Guilty. Whereupon this Court gave judgment that the 
said John Thomas sit upon a Gallows for the space of one hour 
with a Rope round Ins neck, and Tyed to a Cart and be whipt 
on the naked body in four of the most public places in the Town 
of Litchfield to the number of Thirt}' nine Stripes and find sure- 
ties for his good behavior with one Surety in the penal Sum of 
one Hundred pound lawfull money for his future good behavior 
and pay the cost of prosecution Taxed at, £26,lo.8 and stand 
committed till this judgment is fullfilled W^hereof execution re- 
mains to be done. 

These are therefore in his majesty's name to command j'ou that 
you have the sd. John Thomas forth from the Common Goal to 
the place of Execution and cause him to set upon a Gallows for 
the space of one hour and also cause him to be whijjt on the 
naked body Thirty nine stripes at four publick places in the Town 
of Litchfield at the Tail of a Cart and then commit him to said 
Goal and him there safely keep until the M'hole of said Judg- 
ment be fulfilled, fail but make due Return with your doings 
thereon according to Law. 

Dated Litchfield February the 18th 1776. 

per Order of Court 

WM. PITKIN, Clerk P. T. 

Litchfield 21st February 1776. 

Then by virtue of the within execution I caused the within named 
John Thomas to be taken f i-om the common Goal in Litchfield to the 
place of Execution and there set upon a Gallows with a Rope 
Round his neck for the full term of one hour and Then tied to the 
Tail of a cart and Transported to four of the most public places 
in the town of Litchfield and there whipped on his naked body 
Thirty nine stripes in the whole according to the within Direc- 
tions. 

Fees 40s. Test LYNDE LORD, Sheriff. 

In the winter season of 1770, Isaac Corbee and his wife, two 
aged, indigent people, were supported by the town and were 
boarded in the family of John Randall, who lived where William 
E. Marsh now lives. They retired to bed of an evening, in 
apparent good health, the weather being very cold, and in the 
morning both were fou^nd dead in their bed, the current of life in 
both having ceased to flow at the same time. 



HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. 79 

From the Connecticut Joarnal published at New Haven : 
Sharon, Feb. 15, 1781. 

This morning the wife of William Hendrick Levo was found 
dead in the street, a sucking child about tliree months old, lying 
dead by her side. Being under straightened circumstances, she 
went to town, about three miles, in order to procure something 
for the comfort of her famil}^ and carried her little infant in her 
arms. On her return, the evening before, she went into a house 
to warm ; the weather being extreme cold, she was prevailed on 
to tarry, though very much against her inclination, being greatly 
exercised for her children she had left at home, the eldest not 
being above ten years, her husband gone to mill, and she was 
doubtf id of his return. In the night she arose unbeknown to any 
of the family. She had travelled homeward about three-quarters 
of a mile, and was found dead in the manner described, within 
about ten rods of an house. Some were ready to conclude she 
had made too free vise of strong drink, which occasioned her per- 
ishing in this manner ; but upon a careful enquiry it appears to 
be without foundation, and that her death was occasioned h\ the 
extremity of the season. 

The place where tlie body of the woman referred to was 
found was within about ten rods of the house of Merills McLean, 
on the highway leading west from his house over the hill to 
Sharon Street. 

In the month of November, 1784, the wife of Joseph Mar- 
chant, who lived where George Gay now lives, visited some 
friends in the state of Massachusetts. Soon after her return she 
was taken sick, and died after a short illness. The physicians 
differed as to the nature of the disorder. There is a tradition 
that the first person to pronounce the case to be one of small jiox 
was Mrs. Cynthia Deming, the mother of Doctor Ralph Deming, 
who had seen several patients while suffering under that malady, 
and who gave kind ministries to Mrs. Marchant during her illness, 
but the attending physician decided that it was a severe case of 
fever. Her funeral was attended on the Sabbath, and a large 
number of the inhabitants were present. It was soon rumored 
that one of the physicians had intimated an opinion that she had 
died of the small pox, and the most intense anxiety was felt on 
the subject. All doubt, however, was soon dissipated by the 
breaking out of the disorder in various parts of the town. A 
tijne of great and overwhelming distress followed, and nearly 
thirty persons died within a month or two. Such a scene of dis- 
tress and mortality had never before been experienced in the 
town, and the terrors which the pestilence excited were long 
remembered. 



oU HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. 

The following are the names of some of the victims of that 
terrible scourge. In the uptown neighborhood, Amos Mar- 
chant, Perez Gay, Lydia Waldo, Mr. David Elmer, Eunice 
Jennings and her sister. On the mountain Mrs. Nathaniel 
Hamlin, Betsey Downs, and Erastus Downs. In the down- 
town neighborhood, Samuel Doty and wife, and John Bates 
and wife, and besides these there were a large number of 
children who died of the disorder. 

The spirit of dissatisfaction with the existing state of things 
which prevailed through a portion of New England, soon after 
the close of the revolutionary war, and which finallv resvilted in 
open resistance to the constituted authorities in the western part 
of Massachusetts, affected, in some degree, the public mind in 
Sharon. Many things conspired to produce discontent and 
uneasiness, and the records of the town give a clue to some of 
the causes which agitated the community. 

At a town meeting legallj^ warned and held in Sharon, on 
the 9th day of October, 1786, for the purpose of instructing the 
representatives, it was voted : — 1. That it is the mind of the 
town that a paper currency be struck. 2. That the table of fees 
be reduced to the old standard. 3. That there be no deputy 
sheriffs in the state. 

At a town meeting legally warned and held in Sharon on 
the 22d day of February, 1787, for the purpose of presenting a 
petition to the General Assembly for the emission of a paper 
currency, voted — 1. Whether they would do anything about it? 
Voted in the affirmative. 2. Voted that the draught laid before 
the town relating to the premises, is accepted and approved, as 
the mind of the town, and that the same be put in the public 
prints. 

In the spring of 1787, during the existence of the insurrec- 
tion under Shays, in Massachusetts, Doctor John Hulbert, who 
resided in the town of Alford, Berkshire county, Mass., and 
who was an active partisan of Shays, came to Sharon for the 
purpose of awakening a similar spirit in this vicinity, and of 
producing an efficient co-operation. Having received his 
medical education here, and possessing qualities calculated to 
give effect to his representations, Hulbert soon succeeded in 
organizing a considerable number of men under the guidance of 
one William Mitchell, who was constituted their captain, and 
who, in as private a manner as possible, and chiefly in the night 
season, trained and drilled them for service. 



HISTOJiY OF THIC TOWN OF SHARON. 81 

Dr. llulbert was tlic fatlier of the late Hon. John W. IIul- 
bert, a counsellor of much eminence, and a distinguished member 
of congress from the Berkshire district, Mass. , and who, after a 
splendid professional and political career, died suddenly, in 18:51, 
at Auburn, N. Y., where he then resided. Capt. Mitchell was a 
clothier 1)3' trade. He came to Sharon from Farmington, now 
Bristol, in the spring of 1783. He owned and improved the 
clothier's woi'ks lately owned by Capt. James Gaj', one mile 
SQutheast of the meeting house in the first society. 

The rebellion had been thoroughly suppressed in the eastern 
part of Massachusetts, in 1786, but early in 1787, the spirit of 
insubordination was very prevalent in Berkshire county. It 
does not appear that it was very prevalent in Connecticut except 
here in Sharon. The Hon Theodore Sedgwick, of Stockbridge, 
then a member of the Continental Congress, was a firm friend of 
the government, and watched with constant vigilance the move- 
ments of the rebels. Being made aware of the movements of 
Dr. Hulbert, in Sharon, he sent the following letter by express to 
his brother, the late General John Sedgwick, of Cornwall, who 
then commanded the Fourteenth Regiment of Connecticut 
Militia :— 

Great Bakrington, 13 May 1787. 

My Dear Sir: — 

I am here this morning in consequence of the desire of Col. 
Newell. The scoundrels, confiding in the strength which they 
possess in the States of Connecticut, N. York and Vermont, are 
meditating an invasion of this county, and publickly threaten 
ruin and desolation to the friends of Government. They boast 
much of the aid they expect from your quarter. Mr. Bliss is 
dispatched, he can relate to you our circvuustances and the 
information we have received, and the means of procuring it. 
Our situation is critical and we must be greatly distressed if the 
other governments permit the rebels to machinate, while they 
are idle spectators of their practices. 

We are here informed that men are openly enlisting in your 
county particularly in Sharon. This is beyond a doubt the case 
in the state of New York. 

Is there no means of calling such daring aggressors to ac- 
count? Is Government indeed incapable of making resistance 
or indifferent to the ruin and distress of their neighbors? I 
know you will do everything in your power, let me know what 
is so. 

* 11 



0» HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHAROX. 

I should have wrote to General Wolcott, but suppose him in 
Hartford. I pray you to take such measures as your prudence 
will dictate — make my duty to my mother and love to the 
family— Mrs. S. is pretty well. 

I am dear Br. your affec. 

THEODORE SEDGWICK. 
John Sedgwick, Esq., Cornwall. 

On the receipt of tlie foregoing on the day of its date, 
Colonel Sedgwick issued the following order : 

Regimental Orders. Cornwall, May, 13, 1787. 

To the Commanding Officers of Companies of the 14th Ililitia, 
Regiment, State of Connecticut. 

Gentlemen : — I have this moment rec'd by express from 
Great Barrmgton that Parsons & Day, two principals under 
Shays, are returned and now publickly inlisting hien in the State 
of New York, where, with the states of Vermont and Con- 
necticut, their dependence lies — and that they are now inlisting 
men for the same purpose in Sharon in this County. 

We must not be tame spectators of introducing civil discord 
into this State, which must be the case if we suffer our citizens 
to assist the rebels there : Should any attempt to march, you 
and every citizen of this State will be justified both in the sight 
of God and man to repel with force any such attempts by seizing 
and securing the perpetrators thereof and any who may be 
assisting therein. You will also hold yourselves and men in 
readiness to march well equipt, on the shortest notice. Should 
any considerable number march from this state to join the Rebels 
in Massachusetts, I shall undoubtedly soon have orders in a short 
time to march the Regiment to the support of government there. 
You must be determined in this matter, suppress the first 
eruption. In this perhaps Massachusetts has failed more than 
anything else. 

I will be answerable for any consequences in executing this 
order. If anything material transpires pray give me notice. 

JOHN SEDGWICK, 
LtCol. Comdt. 

The Legislature being then in session, and being advised of 
these proceedings, immediately took measures to suj)press the 
rebellion as appears by the following record of its proceedings : 

Whereas this Assembly has received information that one 
Mitchell of Sharon and one Tanner of the State of New York 
have been and now are attempting to stir up and excite the 
people in some parts of the county of Litchfield to join the 
Insurgents in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and have 
actually enlisted a number of men for that purpose in the town 
of Sharon, and that said Mitcliell receives his advice and orders 



HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SIIAROX. ft8 

from a Doct. Hiirlbutt and Doct. P.arnos late inhabitants of sd. 
comnionwealth now resident in sd. Sharon, and that sundry 
])ers()ns in sd. Sharon and also in the town of Norfolk are vn- 
devonring to raise insurrections and disturbance amono- tiie 
people : Thereupon, Resolved by this Assembly, That Col. 
Sam'l Canfield be and he is hereby appointed and directed 
immediately to i-epair to the county of Litchfield and confer with 
Gen'l Swift and such other gentlemen as he sliall judK^' pi'<>i)er. 
and having gained such information and advice as may l)e in his 
power, thereupon to cause to be apprehended and brouglit l)ef()r(! 
proper authority to be examined in the premises and dealt with 
according to law the aforesaid Mitchell, Tanner, HurU)utt and 
Barnes, and such other persons as shall be thought necessary ; 
and also to take every other legal and prudent measure as may be 
judged expedient to quiet the disorders that appear to be i)]-e 
valent among the people, and for the establishment of govern- 
ment and good order in the most effectual manner. 

And it is further resolved. That his Excellency the governor 
be and he is herebj^ requested to issue orders to Brigadier (ien'l 
Swift to call forth the whole or part of the military force under 
his command (in case the same shall be necessary) in order to 
stop or prevent any insurrections of the people and also prevent 
their joining said insurgents. 

The committee on their way hither called on the State's 
Attorney, at Litchfield, took warrants grounded on his official 
information, and with the Sheriff of the county, made their 
appearance here before any one was apprized of their mission, 
much less of their approach. Hulbert, Mitchell, and two others 
were arrested and taken to Litchfield, for examination. Hulbert 
was prosecuted under the act against "vagrants, vagabonds, and 
common beggars," but on his solemn promise to leave the state 
forthwith, he was suffered to depart. The others being charged 
with treasonable practices were bound over to the next term of 
the superior court. Thus, by the seasonable measure of the 
government, the spirit of insubordination was effectually quelled, 
and as the suppression of the insurrection in Massachusetts 
followed not long after, the prosecutions against Mitciiell and 
others were discontinued. 

The following account of these proceedings is copied from a 
Litchfield paper of May 21, 1788. 

"Last Thursday evening arrived in this town from Hart 
ford. Colonel Samuel Canfield and Uriah Tracy, Esci- , with orders 
from the General Assembly to repair to the town of Sharon, and 
put a stop to the insurrection that appeared to be raising in that 
town. The same evening they set off, accompanied by the sheriff 
and one of his deputies, and arrived at Sharon about daybreak, 



84 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. 

and soon after arrested five persons who were supposed to be 
the principal actors and abettors in the insurrection. They were 
conducted to and safely lodged in our goal on Saturday last, in 
order for examination. It is hoped the early and spirited 
exertion of our Assembly will prevent any further disturbance 
in that town. Much praise is due to the gentlemen employed on 
that occasion for their prudence, humanity and judicious 
proceedings.'' 

There was a decided majority of the voters in this town who 
were opposed to the adoption of the Federal Constitution. 
Josiah Coleman and Jonathan Gillett were the delegates from 
this town to the convention which was called to pass upon the 
question of its ratification in January, 1788. Those gentlemen 
voted against its adoption and when it was acted upon in a 
subsequent town meeting, the majority was large against it. 

From July 1, 1786, to January 1, 1787, Sharon 
paid excise duties to Abraham Bradley, 

Collector, £40.16.1^ 

From January 1, 1887, to July 1, 1787 38. 4.7 

From January 1, 1788, to July 1, 1788, 20. 3.4 

George King paid the largest amount of any 

one person at any one time being 19. 9.4 

Nathaniel Hamlin paid 19. 4 2 

At a regimental training in Sharon, on the 20th day of Sep- 
tember, A. D. 1805, an altercation occured betweed Zenas Beebe, 
of Sharon, and Aner Ives, of Kent, which was consummated by 
the stabbing of Ives by Beebe with a bayonet, inflicting a mortal 
wound, of which Ives died at the end of a week. There were 
mitigating circumstances in the case which relieved Beebe from 
the charge of willful murder, but it was a clear case of man- 
slaughter. By a singular blunder of the foreman of the jury, he 
was pronounced not guilty of any offence. The jury had agreed 
upon the verdict to be recorded to be — "Not guilty of murder ; 
but guilty of manslaughter." The foreman rendered the first 
part of the verdict, but stopped there. The subsequent pro- 
ceedings in the matter are copied from the Records of the 
Court. 

' ' After the verdict was rendered the foreman informed the 
court that the verdict which the jury had intended to return and 
had agreed on was — that that the said Beebe was not guilty of 
murder, but by mistake he had omitted to return and state the 
whole finding of the jury and desired to be directed by the court, 
whether the verdict and whole finding of the jury as agreed ui^on 



HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHAllON. 85 

by thein, and as he designed at first to have stated the same, 
would then be made and returned. 

On consideration it was adjudged by the court, that tiie 
verdict Of the jury as returned and recorded by them could not 
be explained or altered." 

Beebe was defended by tw-o of the ablest lawyers in the state, 
Nathaniel Smith, of Woodbury, and David Daggett, of New 
Haven. 

At the term of the Superior Court holden February, A. D. 
1820, Beebe was tried for an assault, with intent to kill Amasa 
Maxam, and found guilty. He was sentenced to confinement 
in the old Newgate prison for two years, but died before the 
expiration of his sentence. 




CHAPTER X. 



METHODIST SOCIETY IN SHAEON. 



The first preaching in Sharon by clergymen of the Methodist 
connection was in 1788. A Mr. Cook, an Enghshman, preached 
once or twice at Samuel Hitchcock's, in the south part of the 
town, and attracted considerable attention by his bold and stir- 
ring appeals to the conscience of his hearers. He also preached 
once or twice in the ball-room in Callow's tavern, which stood on 
the lot now owned by Robert S. Noyes, Esq. It was said that some 
of the authorities of the town intimated to the tavern-keeper that 
another license would not be granted to him, if he opened his 
doors again to the preacher. Very soon Freeborn Garrettson, 
who was the Presiding Elder in an adjoining district in the state 
of New York, was invited by Mr. Sylvanus Hanchett, who then 
lived where Alden Bi-yan now lives, to hold meetings at his 
house. An interesting discussion took place, at one of these 
meetings, between Parson Smith and Mr Garretson, which excit- 
ed much attention at the time. It related to the disputed points 
which divided the two denominations of which they were minis- 
ters. It is not supposed, however, that any good results followed 
the controversy. 

The Rev. Fitch Reed collected some facts and published the 
result of his investigations many years ago, relating to the intro- 
duction of Methodism into Sharon, which are undoubtedly 



HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHAKOX. 87 

authentic, as they were obtained from hving witnesses, and 
which are of much interest to the present generation of that 
denomination in the town. The following is copied from Mr. 
Reed's statements : 

"Mr. Alpheus Jewett, father of the late Rev. William Jewett, 
of the New York Conference, and the late Hon. Judge Jewett, of 
Skaneatles, New York, and his wife were the first persons wlio 
joined the Methodist church in Connecticut. Freeborn Garretson 
was the first Methodist preacher who visited that section. Jesse 
Lee soon after formed a Society in the south part of the State. 
These facts I learned from Rev. William Jewett, and they were 
afterwards confirmed to me by his father and mother. 

The young Society in Sharon was supplied with preaching 
once in two weeks, in the afternoon of a week day. Mr. Jewett 
was a farmer, and in the season of haying and harvest employed 
a number of extra laborers. He always invited his workmen to 
accompany him to preaching, and they usually went. One day 
a Mr. Maxam, a poor man, declined thus going for the reason 
that he was poor and could not aflford to lose the time. On Mr. 
Jewett's offering to pay him for the time thus spent, lie went, 
was awakened and converted and lived to extreme old age, 
a faithful and useful member of tiie church. 

A colored man. Black Harry, as he was called, a local preach- 
er, often accompanied Mr. Garretson in his travels. Harry once 
spent two or three weeks in Sharon, and made himself very useful 
in preaching. Some unprincipled person invented and circulated 
an infamous story about him, and as it involved an alleged crime 
against the peace and good order of society, he was arrested and 
brought to trial before the civil authorities. The crowd assembled 
to witness the proceedings was so great that the court was held in 
the Congregational Church on the public green. The result was 
that not a shadotB of criminality ims proved against him, and he 
was honorably discharged. Andrew Harpending, a traveling 
preacher of some note, happened to be present, and as the people 
began to leave the church, he procured a table and taking his stand 
upon it in the open air, preached one of his characteristic sermons, 
loud, fearless and earnest. A young lady, living half a mile 
south, not being permitted to attend the meetings, stood at an 
open upper window and there distinctly heai'd the preaching, 
and under its influence was brought to a saving knowledge of 
God. So God often works in unexpected ways and "makes the 
wrath of man to praise him." 



88 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. 

As the Methodist Society in Sharon is located contiguous to 
the State of New York, it has always been connected with circuits 
and districts in that State. The circuits for many years extended 
into the counties of Dutcliess and Columbia, and rendered nec- 
essary a triweekly travel of some two hundred miles for the 
preachers. As the preachers increased in numbers, and the means 
of their support were multiplied, the circuits were diminished in 
extent, and the appointments for preaching were more frequent. 
Meetings were held at private houses, and the preaching place in 
Sharon was at Mr. Jewett's. The old gentleman used to speak 
with great satisfaction of the large numbers of Methodist minis- 
ters, including Bishop Asbury, whom he had entertained at his 
house. Tlie society has never been destitute of regular preaching 
since its formation. 

The first camp meeting in Connecticut was holden in the 
summer of 1805, in a grove near the road leading north from 
Austin Cartwright's, and such a success attended the proceedings 
that another was holden the next year near the house of Mr. 
Jewett. The exercises on both occasions were marked by the 
intensely earnest preaching, the fervent prayers, and the loud 
and lofty singing of God's praise, wliich characterized the early 
worship of that most remarkable body of Christians. Mr. Gar- 
retson had the charge of both meetings as Presiding Elder of the 
district. The camp meetings for the two succeeding years were 
held in Goshen . 

The society erected, in 1808, a meeting house, in Caulkinstown, 
so called. It stood facing the termination of the highway leading 
from Mr. Jewett's north to that locality, and it was their place of 
worship for nearly thirty years. And when in subsequent years, 
the progress of the society and the wants of the church demanded 
more enlarged accommodations, it was interesting to observe the 
lingering fondness with which the older members of the society 
cherished the memory of the scenes of spiritual joy and growth 
in grace, which religious exercises in that old tabernacle of the 
Lord had promoted and cherished. It had become amiable in 
their cherished recollections. 

When, in 1835, it was deemed advisable to erect a new house 
of worship, it was found necessary to organize the society accord- 
ing to the existing statute of the state. The law in that respect 
has since been altered, so that the ecclesiastical organization of the 
Methodist Episcopal Church becomes a legal organization under 



HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. 89 

the laws of the state. An enrolhiient of members was had, whicli 
was afterwards organized into a legal Ecclesiastical Society, in 
due form of law. 

The following is a cop.y of the Article of enrollment and the 
appended names of the members, which must be deemed well 
worthy Of preservation by their successors in all time to come. 

We, the subscribers, for the purpose of availing ourselves of 
the, rights, powers and privileges of a certain statute law of the 
state of Connecticut, entitled " An act relating to religious soci- 
eties and congregations," and for the maintenance of public 
religious worship in the town of Sharon, in the county of Litch- 
jBeld, and State aforesaid, accoi'ding to the forms and usages of 
the Methodist Episcopal Church, do, by voluntary Association of 
ourselves, for the purposes aforesaid, hereby institute and estab- 
lish a religious society or congregation to be known and called by 
the name of the Methodist Episcopal Society in Sharon, and do 
hereby enroll ourselves as members of said Society, to be governed 
by all the laws regulating said societies except that of taxation. — 
Witness our hands — 

Zaccheus W. Bissell, James Calkin, 

Ira Williams, Horace Reed, 

Elijah H. Williams, Merrills McLean, 

John Williams, James R. Jenkins, 

Daniel G. Miller, Ezra H. Bartram, 

Samuel Roberts, Jr. , Hector W. Roberts, 

Samuel Fenn, Edgar J. Reed, Jr. , 

John Senigo, Miles B. Lewis, 

Ely Rowley, Alden Bryan, 

Frederick A. Hotchkiss, Dennis Brusie, 

Henry Williams, Gilbert Bryan, 

David H. Cole, D. Gibson. 

The following is a recoixl of the proceedings of the first meet 
ing of the Society : 

"At a meeting of the INIethodist Episcopal Society of Sharon, 
holden on the 13th day of January, A. D., 1835, in pursuance of 
a warrant under the hand of Charles F. Sedgwick, Justice of the 
Peace for the Covmty of Litchfield — 

" Rev. Julius Field was chosen moderator. 

"Zaccheus W. Bissell chosen clerk pro tern, and duly sworn. 

"Horace Reed was chosen clerk for the year ensuing of the 
Society. 

"Elijah H. Williams was chosen treasurer for the year 
ensuing. 
* 12 



90 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. 

" Zaccheus W. Bissell, Ira Williams, Richard Clark were 
appointed a Society committee for the j^ear ensuing. 

"Richard Clark, Ira Williams, Zaccheus W. Bissell were ap- 
pointed trustees of the Society. 

" Virgil B. Roberts, Horace Reed, Zaccheus W. Bissell, Ira 
Williams and Elijah H. Williams were appointed a building com- 
mittee. 

' ' Voted, that the church about to be erected by this Society 
shall be located in Sharon Village, on such piece of land as may 
be purchased by this Society for the erection of saul church, and 
of which a deed shall be executed by the owner of said land to 
the Society, for the purpose aforesaid." 

The new church building was erected and finished in 1836. 
In the subsequent Spring it was dedicated to religious use and 
worship, with appropriate ceremonies, by the Rev. Nathan Bangs, 
D. D., an eminent clergyman of the denomination, whose family 
in the early years of his ministry had lived in the town while he 
was fulfilling his appointment as preacher on this circuit. The 
house has been altered and improved in many respects since its 
first erection, and is now, probably, the most costly and tasteful 
church of that denomination in the county of Litchfield. 

The following is a list of the preachers who have supplied 
the pulpit in Sharon since 1828 : 

David Miller, Wm. S. Stillwell, 

Phinehas Cook, Lucius H. King, 

Billy Hibbard, M. R. Lent, 

Aaron Pearce, D. B. Turner, 

Theodore Clark, Benj. M. Adams, 

T. Sparks, Elbert Osborne, 

Julius Fields, Joel Croft, 

J. B. Wakely, Jason Wells, 

Richard Wymond, Clark Fuller, 

Sanford Washburn, D. Gibson, 

George D. Sutton, Wm. S. Stillwell, 

Fitch Reed, G. Daniels, 

D. Holmes, H. B. Mead, 

Wm. K. Stopford, Ira Ferris, 

Hart F. Pease, Wm. Stevens, 

Fitch Reed, Clai'k Eggleston, 

S. N. Vail, S. J. McCutcheon. 



UISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. 



91 



[The following have served the church as pastors since Mr. 
McCutcheon. —Publisher. ] 



H. C. Humphrey, 
Chester J. Hoj^t, 
Charles B. Landon, 
James H. Michell, 



Benjamin N. Lewis, 
Frederick T. Angevine, 
Robert Hunt, 
Simon Stephens. 




CHAPTER XI. 



HISTORY OF THE ECCLESIASTICAL SOCIETY CONTINUED. 



It will have been observed that during the early years of 
the history of the town, ecclesiastical affairs were the subject of 
business in the town meetings. Churches were built, pastors 
settled, and taxes laid for their support in the same manner that 
all other public expenses were provided for. This method of the 
support of religious institutions was continued long after the 
dissenters had become numerous, and after they had been re- 
lieved from taxes levied for the support of the Standing Order. 
Before the close of the last century, the inconvenience of con- 
ducting ecclesiastical and civil business by one organization had 
become so great, that a law was passed, authorizing the for. 
mation of ecclesiastical societies in the different towns, from 
which all secular business was to be excluded, and turned over 
to the towns in their corporate capacity. The law required, that 
on the application of a certain number of the principal inhabi- 
tants of a society thus pi-oposed to be organized, a warrant might 
be issued by a Justice of the Peace, summoning the members to 
meet at the place of holding town meetings, to organize the 
society, and assume the charge of ecclesiastical affairs in the 
town. The warrant in this case was issued by David Downs, 
Esq., a Justice of the Peace on the application of — 
Pelatiah Pierce, Silas St. John, 

Paul Smith, Jr. Thomas St. John, 

Nathaniel Lowrey, Eliphalet Martin, 

David Gay, Edmund Bennett. 



HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. 93 

At this first meeting of tlie society, Deacon Isaac Cliam 
berlain, Mr. Pelatiah Pierce and David Dowais. Esq., were chosen 
Society's Committee, to act in society matters in the same 
capacity as selectmen act in the town affairs. Colonel Samuel 
Canfield was chosen society's clerk, which office he held till 1805, 
when Dr. Samuel Rockwell was chosen clerk, which office he 
held till 1836. Richard Smith, Esq., was then chosen clerk and 
has held the office till the present time. Parson Smith, wlien in 
the maturity of his powers, was deemed one of the best preach- 
ers of his time, in the ministerial circle with which he was 
connected. Other elements of character combined to make him 
very strong in the affection and respect of his people, and when 
old age with its attendant infirmities came upon him, it does not 
appear that the parish entertained any desire for a change of its 
clerical relations. The first movement in that direction was 
from Parson Smith himself. At a meeting of the society, holden 
on the 1st Monday of Marcli, 1803, the following communication, 
from the minister, was laid before the meeting : 

To the Church and first Society in Sharon — Beloved brethren and 
friends : — 

The fifth of October last completed a period of seven and 
forty years since I first came into this town to labor witli you in 
the work of the gospel ministry ; however I was not ordained to 
that sacred work until the 28th of August following. During 
this length of time, I have labored with you by night and by day, 
in season and out of season. I could have wished that my labors 
might have proved more successful, but this was not in my power 
to command, however sincerely desired and ardently prayed for ; 
and now, at length, worn down with age and bodily infirmities, I 
find myself unable to discharge the duties of that sacred office in 
such a manner as would be most useful and beneficial to j'ou. 
The support of the gospel ministry will richly compensate for the 
good derived to Society, as it respects the life that now is, but if 
we take eternity into view, it becomes an object of infinite mag- 
nitude and importance. 

It is therefore, Brethren, my sincere desire, that you would 
invite and call in some suitable person to take part with me in 
the evangelical ministry, as a colleague, and fellow laborer in 
this vineyard of our common Lord ; and I shall always be ready 
to afford you my assistance, so far as my strength and abilities 
will permit. And that the burden of support might not be too 
great, I offer to resign my salary except the parsonage money, 
which is about twenty pounds ten shillings, and nine pounds ten 
shillings in addition, which will amount to one hundred dollars, 
whenever another minister shall be settled in this place. 



94 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. 

This small compensation you will not think unreasonable to 
grant towards my support and comfort during the remainder of 
my days, which in all probability will be but of short continuance. 
And if any other method can be devised which will be more 
agreeable to the church and society, it shall meet with my hearty 
concurrence. 

May the great Head of the Church guide and direct you in 
this important affair, and that the result may be for the honor of 
God, the interest of the Redeemer's kingdom, your present peace 
and future tranquility and happiness, is the most devout wish and 
fervent prayer of your sincere friend and aged pastor and 
teacher. COTTON M. SMITH, 

Sharon, Feb. 9, 1802. 

The only action taken by the society at its first meeting called 
to consider the application of Parson Smith, was a vote directing 
the committee to hire some person to assist him in preaching, but 
at a subsequent meeting held April 13, 1802, the society voted to 
comply with his request. During the two years which elapsed 
before the settlement of a colleague, Mr. Smith must have 
preached for a considerable portion of the time, as the society 
paid him two hundred and twenty dollars for his services for the 
first year, and two hundred and eighty seven dollars for the 
second. 

At a meeting of the society, holden on the 3d day of October, 
1803, it was voted that a committee be directed to hire the Eev. 
David L. Perry, or some other person, if he is not to be obtained, 
till further orders from the society, and to give more importance 
to the measure, it was voted that Deacon Paul Smith, Captain 
Samuel Pardee and Deacon Benjamin Hamlin be appointed a 
committee to assist the present committee to hire some person to 
assist in preaching. 

At a meeting holden on the 3d day of January, 1804, Mr. 
Abraham Beecher moved, that the society wish Mr. David L. Perry 
to settle as colleague with the Rev. Cotton Mather Smith in the 
work of the ministry. This motion was postponed to a future 
meeting, and the committee were directed to hire Mr. Perry for 
six Sabbaths. At an .adjourned meeting holden on the 16th day 
of January, A. D. 1804, the motion was unanimously passed, with 
an offer of a yearly salary of five hundred dollars. This was then 
as large a salary as was paid to any minister in the consociation. 
Mr. Perry signified his acceptance of the call, and the first Wed- 
nesday in June, 1804, being the 6th day of the month, was 
appointed for the ordination. It took place according to the 
appointment, and the following is the order of exercises : 



HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. 95 

IModerator of the Consociation — Rev. Amaria R. Robbins of 
Norfolk. 

Introductory prayer — By the Rev. Samuel J. Mills, of 
Torringford. 

Sermon — Rev. David Perry, of Richmond, Mass., father of 
the candidate. 

Consecrating praj'er — Rev. Joel Bordwell, of Kent ; Revs. 
Smith, Perry, Robbins and Mills, imposing hands. 

Charge to the Pastor — By Rev. Cotton Mather Smith, his 
colleague. 

Right hand of fellowship— Rev. Joseph W. Crossman, of 
Salisbury. 

Concluding prayer— Rev. Jeremiah Hallock, of Canton. 
The Rev. Mr. Smith continued in the ministry in Sharon 
until the 27th day of November, 1806, when the venerable and 
beloved pastor went down to the grave. After the settlement 
of Mr. Perry he preached but seldom. He however delivered a 
sermon on the fiftieth anniversary of his ordination, which made 
the occasion one of the most tender and affecting interest. Tlie 
character of this excellent man is well and very truly sujnmed up 
in the epitaph inscribed upon his monument, which is as 
follows : — 

The Rev. Cotton Mather Smith, 
Born in Suffield, Oct. 16, 17B1, orda'ned in Sharon, 
August 28, 1755, died Nov. 27, 1806, in the 76th year of 
his age and o2d of his ministry. 
Sound in the faith, in life and conversation as becometh the 
Gospel, in doctrine incorrupt ; in manner forcible and persuasive ; 
A fond husband ; a tender father ; an unvarying friend ; 
Having for more than fifty years, earnestly contended for the 
faith once delivered to the saints, he is gone to render his 
final account to the great captain of his salvation. 
People of his charge, he still speaks to you in a voice 
awful as death, solemn as the grave. 
Prepare to meet your God. 
The Rev. David L. Perry was born at Harwinton, Conn., on 
the 21st of June, 1777. He was the son of the Rev. David Perry, 
who was then the minister of Harwinton, but who was afterwards 
and for many years settled at Richmond, Mass. He was a grad- 
uate of Williams College of the class of 1798, and for three years, 
commencing in October, 1800, was a tutor in that institution. He 
studied divinity with the Rev. Dr. Backvis, of Somers, Conn., and 
upon the vmanimous invitation of the church and society 
in this town, he settled here in the ministry as before stated. 
Soon after his settlement, he married the only daughter of the 
Rev. Dr. Strong, minister of the first church in Hartford, by 
whom he had ten children. 



96 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. 

Soon after his settlement in Sharon, he purchased of Deacon 
Paul Smith forty acres of land lying on the east side of the town 
street, including that now owned by Mr. Henry J. Taylor. On 
this he erected a very neat and commodious brick dwelling house, 
w-hich has been very much enlarged by subsequent owners, and 
which was his home during his life. The good taste of Mr. Perry 
in improving the grounds and beautifying the adjoining appur- 
tenances have made it one of the most admired and desirable 
family residences in Sharon. He continued in the ministry here 
until his death on the 25th day of October, 1835, having been sud- 
denly cut off by a stroke of apoplexy. He was a man of very 
pure cliaracter and of respectable talents, and he died much 
lamented by the people of liis charge and his brethren in the 
ministry. 

Up to the year 1807 all the expenses of the Society had been 
provided for by the levy of a tax on the polls and property real 
and personal of the members, except the income of the small fund 
arising from the sale of the original parsonage right. At the 
annual meeting of the Society in 1807, an important change in 
the method of providing funds was adopted. It was voted to 
rent the pews for one year to the highest bidder. This was so 
great an innovation that there were serious fears of its failure. 
The first committee appointed to sell the pews were Isaac Hunt, 
George King, Isaac Chamberlain, Samuel Rockwell and Paul 
Smith, Jun. The proceedings were a success, and that method 
of raising money for the expenses of the Society has been contin- 
ued, with a few temporary exceptions, to the present time. 

In the year 1813, it had become apparent that the society 
was growing weaker in its means of supporting the necessary 
expenses of its institutions, and that the congregation was 
growing less in numbers. The emigration of its menabers and 
the increase of dissenters contributed largely to that result. 
Anxious for the maintenance of the Puritan system and for the 
continuance of the administration of gospel ordinances in their 
time-honored method in Sharon, the men of property in the 
parish undertook to raise, by subscription, a permanent fund, to 
be safely invested in securities by real estate, the income of which 
was to be applied to the payment of the expenses of the society. 
The whole sum was subscribed before the matter was brought 
before the society for its acceptance. The articles of subscription 
were drawn up in the most careful manner, to insure the safety 
of the investments, and to direct the use of the fund to the 



HISTORY OF TIIIC TOWN OF SHARON. 97 

l)uri)oses intended by the donors. Tlie church is allowed to 
change its form of administration from Congregational to Pres- 
byterian, but in other respects all deviations from the strictest 
rules of old New England Puritanism are forbidden. At a 
society's meeting holden on the first day of November, 1813, the 
fund was transferred to the society and accepted by it upon the 
terms and conditions specified in the article of subscription. It 
was placed in the care of the committee of the society. The 
amount subscribed in the first instance was over four thousand 
dollars. The old parsonage fund amounted to a little more than 
one thousand dollars, and several subscriptions, legacies and 
donations have been added since, so that the present amount of 
the fund is about seven thousand dollars. Of this sum, two 
thousand dollars have been invested in the parsonage. There 
were forty subscribers to the fund article, and the following is a 
list of the names of those who subscribed fifty dollars and over : 

John Cotton Smith and son $700.00 

Paul Smith, Jr. and sons 300.00 

Calvin Noyes, 300.00 

Cyrus Swan, 200.00 

Benj. Hamlin and sons 200.00 

Isaac Chamberlain, 150.00 

Edmund Bennett, 150.00 

Samuel Rockwell andsons 150.00 

Samuel Pardee and son, 160.00 

George King, 150 00 

Joseph Orton, 100.00 

David Gould 100.00 

Hezekiah Goodwin, 100.00 

Nathaniel Hamlin, 140.00 

Aunt Sterling 100.00 

Abraham Beecher, for son Amos, 100 . 00 

David Gould, Jr.,.. 200.00 

Abraham Pratt 100.00 

John W. Smith, 80.00 

Abner Burnham, 70.00 

Samuel Beecher and sons, CO. 00 

Simeon Lyman, 80.00 

Benj. Reid, 60.00 

Mary Noyes 50.00 

Chas. Elliot, 50.00 

* 13 



yo HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. 

Rebecca Patchin, 50.00 

Israel White, 50.00 

Silas A. Gray, 50.00 

Chas. F. Sedgwick 50.00 

Prudence Reid 50.00 

Jacob Chamberlain, 50.00 

This fund has been of very great utility to the society, giving 
stability to its proceedings and encouraging accession to its 
membership. 

A stove was first set up in the meeting house in 1818, against 
a strong opposition from some of the older members of the 
congregation. 

The first twenty years of Mr. Perry's ministry passed with- 
out anything to mark it with any peculiainties. Several reviv- 
als of religion attended the faithfulness of his ministry, and 
added to the membership of the church. Times had so changed that 
those who disliked the ministry, instead of making their dislike 
known through their votes in the meetings of the society, would 
leave it without reproach, and unite with some other denomina- 
tion of Christians, and the society thus left, though weakened in 
numbers by their secession, was strengthened by the unity which 
it occasioned. Emigration, too, had caused the withdrawal of 
much strength from the parish. A revival of religion in 1823 
added some one hundred members to the church, which gave it 
unwonted stability, and encouraged efforts to build up the 
society. 

A great want of the society had been for many years a new 
place of worship. The old church, standing in the main street, 
was out of repair, and in no way conformed with the require- 
ments of modern taste or convenience. 

Encouraged by the smiles of the Divine favor, and by the 
unity of sentiment in favor of the measure, the society under- 
took, in 1823, to erect a substantial and costly edifice for the 
worship of God. At a society's meeting, holden on the 20th day 
of October of that year, it was voted that John Cotton Smith, Ed- 
mund Bennett, Samuel Rockwell, Isaac Chamberlain and Charles 
F. Sedgwick be a committee to enquire into the expediency to 
prepare a plan and furnish an estimate of the probable expense of 
building a new house of worship, and report to the next adjourn- 
ed meeting. On the 18th of November following, the committee 



HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. QJ) 

reported to an adjourned meeting of the society tliat it was inex- 
pedient to repair the old churcli. Thej^ also recommended to the 
society to instruct the society's committee to collect such inform- 
ation and make such estimates of the expense necessai-y to build 
a new church, as shall be necessary, and to report to a future 
meeting of the society. 

At the annual meeting of the society, in October 13, 1833, the 
following resolution was adopted, two thirds of the voters being 
in the vote : 

Resolved. That whereas the present House of Worship in this 
Society is so far decayed as to be unfit for use or repair, it is 
expedient to erect by subscription, a new edifice for the worship 
of God. 

Resolved, That Samuel Rockwell, Henry Reed, William M. 
Smith and Charles F. Sedgwick be a committee to solicit sub- 
scriptions for a sum not less than four thousand dollars for the 
foregoing object. 

This meeting was adjourned for two weeks, and at the 
adjourned meeting, the committee for obtaining subscriptions 
reported such success that a veiy strong vote was passed to pro- 
ceed in the erection of a new house of worsiiip without further 
delay. It was further voted that a committee be appointed to 
adopt a place for this proposed building, to determine whether it 
should be constructed of brick or stone ; to make the necessary 
contracts for the erection and completion thereof, and to dispose of 
the old meeting house so as best to subserve the interests of the 
society in building another ; the committee to consist of nine 
members, to be chosen by ballot, a majority of whom were to be 
competent for the transaction of business. The following named 
persons were appointed upon this committee : 

John Cotton Smith, Isaac Chamberlain, 

Samuel Rockwell, Edmund Bennett, 

Hezekiah Goodwin, Charles F. Sedgwick, 

Cyi'us Swan, Aaron Read. 
William M. Smith, 

It was further provided that the committee should select 
three of their number, to superintend the building of the house, 
and to collect and pay over to the treasurer of the society the 
monies subscribed for that purpose. The persons selected as 
this sub-committee were Hezekiah Goodwin, William M. Smith 
and Charles F. Sedgwick. It was determined to build the walls 
of the house of brick, on a stone underpinning, and a contract 



100 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. 

was made with William Watson, of New Milford, a builder of 
high repute and long experience, to do the mason work of the 
house. The woodwork was contracted to be done by James 
Jennings, of Weston, in New Fairfield county, who had been 
known here as a builder of churches by his having been em- 
ployed in such service in North Canaan and Warren a short 
time before. Both these gentlemen fulfilled their contracts to 
the entire satisfaction of the committee and of the society, and 
all the expenses of the building were promptly met by the parish. 
The following is a copy of the subscription paper to raise 
the money to build the meeting house, with the names of those 
who subscribed to the amount of fifty dollars or over : 

Sharon, October 13th, 1822. 

\Miereas, the house dedicated to divine worship in the first 
Ecclesiastical Society in Sharon is so far destroyed as to be 
unfit for use or repair. 

Therefore, to erect a suitable edifice for the service of Al- 
mighty God, according to the Congregational or Presbyterian 
system of faith and worship, the walls to be constructed of brick 
or stone, under the direction of the committee of said society, 
and to be located on land now owned by Samuel Rockwell, 
Esq., near the site of the present house ; we, the subscribers, do 
severally engage to pay to such committee the sums annexed to 
our respective names ; one-half part thereof on the first of May 
next, and the remainder on the first day of November then 
following. Provided nevertheless that unless the amount of four 
thousand dollars shall be subscribed for the foregoing object, 
the present article shall not be obligatory on the subscribers, but 
shall be deemed of no effect. 

John Cotton Smith and son, $1100.00 

Calvin Noyes, 300.00 

Paul Smith and son 210.00 

Samuel Rockwell, for site and expenses, 262.00 

David Gould, Jr.. 125.00 

Aaron Reed 125.00 

Alanson Wheeler 110.00 

Isaac Chamberlain and son, 100.00 

Samuel Beecher 100.00 

Cyrus Swan, 115.00 

David Gould, 100.00 

Hezekiah Goodwin, 120.00 

Amy Chapman, 100.00 

Simeon Lyman, 100.00 

Edmund Bennett, 100.00 



HISTORY OP THE TOWN OF SHARON. 101 

George King, 100.00 

Benjamin Reed, 95.00 

Clias. Elliott, 87.00 

Benj. and Ebenezer Hamlin , 70.00 

Joshua Lovell 75.00 

Henry Reed, 62.00 

Calvin Gay, 60.00 

Daniel Lowrey 60.00 

Abraham Pratt, 60.00 

Israel Cowles and son, 50.00 

Joseph Orton, 50.00 

Lois Sears and children 50.00 

Isaac Lyman, 50.00 

Charles Van Dusen, 50 . 00 

Mary Noyes and son 50.00 

Geo. King, Jr 50.00 

Robert R. Beecher 50.00 

C. and R. B. Cole, 50.00 

Tarsus Botsford, 50.00 

Benj. Lines, 50.00 

In the Spring of 1863 the subject of a thorough repair and 
alteration of the church was agitated, and received the approval 
of nearly all the members of the society. At a meeting holden 
on May 29, 1863, Charles Sears, John C. Terrett, Aaron R. Smith, 
Asahel A. Hotchkiss and Henry M. Gillette were appointed a 
committee to adopt a plan of the proposed repairs, and in their 
report made to a subsequent meeting they, or a majority of 
them, were authorized to proceed with such repairs and im- 
provements, both inside and outside, wherein the subscriptions 
for that pux'pose should become binding, and also to construct a 
lecture room, whenever a subscription of sufficient funds could 
be obtained. 

While the church was being repaired, the use of the Meth- 
odist Episcopal Church was kindly offered for congregational 
Sabbath worship in the afternoon. Both congregations were 
every way well accommodated, and wei'e much enlarged during 
the continuance of the arrangement, and friendly feelings 
between them prevailed throughout the whole time thus 
occupied. 

The proceedings of the committee in repairing the church 
were prosecuted with so much vigor, that it was occupied by 
the society, for public worship, on the 6th day of March, 1864. 



102 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SUAIiON. 

It was dedicated by appropriate ceremonies on the 2d of March, 
1864, an historical sermon being preached by the pastor, the 
Rev. Mr. McLaughlin. The whole expense of repairing, painting 
and furnishing the house was four thousand and fifty -four 
dollars, and provision was made to meet that whole sum before 
the house was occupied. 

The next indispensable item in the supply of the wants of 
the society was a parsonage, and on the 18th day of June, 
1866, it was voted, notwithstanding the great expense incurred 
in repairing and improving the church, to incur the greater ex- 
pense of building a costly and beautiful parsonage. Joseph 
Bostwick, Aaron R. Smith, William W. Knight, Gilbert L. 
Smith and Hiram Weed were appointed a committee, to examine 
sites and raise money by suhscriptions, to procure a parsonage and 
other appropriate buildings. This committee selected the site 
now occupied by the building, and on the 16th day of July Henry 
M. Gillette, Joseph Bostwick, Aaron R. Smith, Gilbert L. Smith 
and Charles Sears were appointed a committee to go forward and 
erect the building. Some dissatisfaction with the choice of a 
site and other matters pertaining to the erection of the building 
exhibited itself, and another meeting was called to I'eview, and 
perhaps reverse the proceedings of the last one ; but the young and 
enterprising men of the parish had the matter in hand, and the 
society sustained their movement by a large majority. The 
whole expense of the building was $5,784, which was promptly 
met by the parish. It has also expended more than one thousand 
dollars in the purchase and improvement of their organ, but it is 
now entirely free from debt. 

The following named gentlemen have been pastors of the 
church since Mr. Perry's death, for the times indicated : 

Rev. Mason Grosvenor, installed Sept. 28, 1836 ; dismissed 
May 14, 1839. 

Rev. Grove L. Brownell, installed May 20, 1840 ; dismissed 
August 1, 1848. 

Rev. Thomas G. Carver, installed Oct. 1, 1851 ; dismissed 
August 6, 1853. 

Rev. Leonard E. Lathrop, installed July 18, 1854 ; died 
August 20, 1857. 

Rev. Daniel D. T. McLaughlin, installed January 18, 1859 ; 
dismissed June 7, 1865. 

Rev. Alexander B, Bullions, D. D. , the present incumbent, 
was installed May 38, 1868. 



HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. 103 

[ The following have served the church as pastors, since Rev. 
Dr. Bullions : 

Rev. Edward Strong, 1879—1880. 
Rev. James R. Bourne Nov. 1880— May 1890. 
Rey. Gerald Stanley Lee, Nov. 1890— Sept. 1893. 
Rev. Edward O. Dyer, Dec. 1893 (present incumbent.)] 
The following named persons have held the office of deacon 
in the church : 

Nathaniel Skinner, elected in 1739. 

Ebenezer Jackson, elected in 1739. 

Matthew St. John, elected in 1745. 

Jonathan Elmer, elected in 1746. 

Ebenezer Frisbie, elected in 1755. 

John Williams, elected in 1766. 

Timothy Carvier, elected in 1766. 

Daniel Griswold, elected in 1774. 

Gain Miller, elected in 1781. 

Joseph Landon, elected in 1781. 

Benjamin Hamlin, elected in 1793. 

Paul Smith, Jr. , elected in 1793. 

Isaac Chamberlain, elected in 1799. 

Aaron Read, elected in 1812. 

William Mather Smith, elected in 1838. 

Charles Sears, elected in 1854. 

John Cotton Terrett, elected in 1864. 

Abel C. Woodward, elected in 1874. 

Edward F. Gillette, elected in 1874. 
[ The following is to be added to list of Deacons : 

George A. Kelsey, elected in 1878.] 



CHAPTER XII. 



THE WAR OF THE REBELLION. 



The feeling in favor of sustaining the government in putting 
down the rebellion of 1861, was very strong in Sharon. If there 
were any who favored weak measures and a vacillating policy, 
in dealing with the insurgents, they were very few and scarcely 
known to the great body of the people. During the first year of 
the war, volunteering was very prompt to the full number re- 
quired to answer the calls of the government. When in 1862 the 
government found it necessary to require of the volunteers a 
longer term of service, a draft from the military subjects was 
resorted to to supply the demand, and the following named 
persons were the first conscripts from Sharon : 

Gordon J. Peet, Frederick Northrup, 

Cyrenus Hunter, Charles P. St. John, 

Albert F. Roberts, Charles B. Everitt, 

"William E. Brown, Joshua B. Chaffee, 

Albert Scott, Ezekiel S.Whitney, 

Don P. Griswold, John VanDusen, 

Newton Bump, George D. Williams, 

Aaron H. Dunbar, Charles W. Reed, 

George W. Birdsell. Richard Woodward, 

William E. Marsh, Asa Smith, 

Chesterfield Chapman, Wm. Bush, 



HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. 



105 



Hilan B. Eggleston, 
Ricliard F. Everitt, 
Elias B. Reed, 
Henry Bush, 



William Chapman, 
Baldwin Reed, 2d, 
James Kelly, 
Charles Hotchkiss. 



All of the above named procured substitutes, except William 
Chapman, who was a son of the late Lovell W. Chapman, and 
who died in the hospital in Washington within a few weeks 
after being mustered into the service. 

The town of Sharon had in the field, at different times, 
during the war, more than two hundred of its citizens or their 
substitutes, and her quota of soldiers was never deficient. 

The following is a roll of the soldiers who served in the army, 
and were credited to Sharon in the Adjutant General's office. 
Many of the names are familiar to the citizens, and most of the 
strange names were borne by substitutes. 



John Anderson, 

Thomas R. Albro, 

Stephen B. Allen, 

Paul August, 

Wm. Abbott, 

Lewis R. Ashman, 

Samuel J. Alexander, 

Bradford B. Brown, 

Geo. M. Bennett, 

Wm. H. Bowen, 

Daniel Buxton, 

Rich. Beebe, killed in battk 

Chas. Barley, 

Myron Buttolph, 

Samuel Beeman, 

Chas. Bayard, 

Harry Belmont, 

George Brown, 

Edward Baker, 

Nelson Bush, 

William Bush, 

Henry Bush, 

E. J. Brazee, 

Seymour Buckley, 

John Colder, 

Angevine Cook, 



John Brown, 
Henry Burke, 
Enoch B. Benedict, 
Frederick S. Beebe, 
Lorenzo C. Buttolph 
Wm. Brazee, 
John Bates, 
Richard Booth, 
Joseph Belore, 
Chas. Brown, 
Wm. Bartlett. 
Newton Bowen, 
N. Chapman, 
Edward H. Cross, 
John Chase, 
John Curtin, 
Michael Curley, 
Wm. CHnton, 
Jas. B. Capron, 
Chas. F. Cain, 
George I. Conklin, 
Henry Cain, 
Jerome Chapman, 
Edwin Cain, 
Michael Henry, 
John Hevley, 



106 



HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. 



Henry A. Chapman, 
George Clinton, 
James Carl, 
Joshua B. Chaffee, 
Chas. E.Cole, 
Wm. Chapman, died in 
Julius N. Coje. 
Wm. Clark, 
Gustin Champlin, 
Charles Chapman, 
Michael Cullen, 
Geo. Cook, 
Thomas Coliby, 
Henry S. Dean, 
Jas Doyle, 
Jas. H. Divine, 
Edmund Divine, 
John Dunbar, 
John B. Derich, 
Thomas Doty, 
Edmund Dean, 
Everitt Dunbar, 
Garrett Dean, 
Jas. Doty, 
William Frazier, 
Peter Foster, 
Newell P. Foot, 
John Frawley, 
Carl Freidland, 
Michael Frawley, 
Wm. Fitzgerald, 
Peter Gimlet, 
Thomas Garvin, 
Wm. H. Gaul, 
Chauncey Griffin, 
Geo. Gaston, 
Horace R. Griswold. 
John Grady, 
Fred'k D. Holmes, 
Charles F. Hinman, 
Edward E. Hoffman, 
N. L. Holmes, 



Chas. H. Hamlin, 
David Hector, 
Geo. W. Hall, 
Joshua B. Hoxie, 
Peter Honey, 
hospital. Wm. H. Ingraham, 
Chas. Ingersoll, 
Nathan H. Jewitt, 
William Johnson, 
Henry Johns, 
Harvey Johns, 
Gilbert Ingraham, 
Andrew Jackson, killed in battle 
Jas. B. Johnson. 
Thos. Jones, 
Wm. C. Jacobs, 
Jas. R. Jenkins, 
Galls Juans, 
Elijah Johns, 
Elmore F. Jenks, 
Martin B. Jenkins, 
Michael Kelly, 
Chas. King, 
Fred'k King, 
Patrick Kinnej'-, 
John Kelley, 
Henry Kelly, 
Gilbert E. Lake, 
Walstein Loundsbury, 
William H. Logan, 
John Lynch, 
Chas. Loretta, 
Jos. B. Loper, 
Stephen Mclntyre, 
Oakley Middlebrooks, 
Wm. Mooney, 
Joseph Marline, 
James McMaster, 
Christopher Muller, 
Cyrus Mitchell, 
John H. Mitchell, 
Andrew Morehouse, 



HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON, 



107 



Cai'lo Mosier, 
Jose Mayor, 
August Mitjen, 
John Mentin, 
Wm. H. Norton, 
Smith Olaw, 
Geo. D. Palmer, 
John F. Peck, 
John Pahner, 
Miles Pedro, 
Shephard Packliard, 
Sanford B. Pahner, 
Sheldon F. Prout, 
John Qixinn, 
Albert Robinsdn, 
Dayton Reed, 
Chas. J. Reed, 
Isaac L. Reed, 
Ralph Rowley, 
Chas. E. Reea, 
John Rogers, 
John Ryan, 
Thos. Redding, 
Milo Reynolds, 
John Rowley, 
Robert A. Sedgwick, 
Wm. Shephard, 
Dwight D. Studley, 
Geo. W. Studley, 
Elisha Soule, 
John Stephenson, 
Edward Saunders, 
Josiah Starr, 
Lewis H. Starr, 
Jas. Sullivan, 
Jas. Sinton. 



Geo. C. Skiff, 
James Savoy, 
Chester Slover, 
Wm. A. Smith, 
Wm. Smith, 
Almond Slover, 
Robert Shea, 
Wm. Smith, 
Lyman Teator, 
Chas. P. Traver, 
Chas. H. Treadway, 
John Tuttle, 
David Taylor, 
John Taylor, 
John Thomj)3on, 
John Tracy, 
Henry Tohoff , 
Henry Valentine, 
Wm. Waldron. 
Elmore E. Waldron, 
Henry Wheeler, 
Joseph Wheeler, 
Benj. Wilson, 
Peter Welch, 
Wm. Waters. 
Chas. Witham, 
Ransom Welton, 
Lockwood Waldron, 
Thomas Wilson, 
Horace C. Warner, 
Chas. L. Wardwell, 
Edmund Whitney, 
James Wilton, 
Geo. Williams, 
Fred'k White, 
Napoleon Wilson. 



At a town meeting, held at the Town Hall in Sharon July 20, 
1862, Samuel Roberts, Esq., Moderator, the following preamble 
and votes were passed : 

Whereas, Under the late call of the President of the United 
States for the additional force of three hundred thousand volun- 
teers to put down the unrighteous and wicked rebellion, to restore 



108 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. 

the supremacy of law and order in our land, and happiness to our 
beloved country ; it becomes the duty of this town to raise about 
thirty volunteers as her quota ; and whereas it is desirable and 
necessary that said number shall be put into the field without 
delay. 

Therefore, As an expression of the loyalty of the citizens of 
this town and of their willingness and determination to meet this 
and all other demands made upon them either by the chief mag- 
istrate of the Republic, or the executive of our State, to support 
and sustain our government in this the hour of its peril, and to 
enable the government (so far as it is our duty) to prosecute the 
war to a speedy and triumphant issue — to expedite volunteering 
to the number aforesaid, 

Voted, 1st. That the selectmen of Sharon be and are hereby 
authorized to pay to each volunteer, who shall enlist to make the 
quota of Sharon, under the late call of the President the simi of 
one hundred dollars, and to pay the same as soon as they are 
mustered and accepted by the United States, and that the select- 
men draw their orders on the town treasurer for such sums. 

Voted, 2d. That in case the Secretary of War or the Execu- 
tive of the United States, or of this State, shall fix or recommend 
a sum to be uniformly paid to volunteers, as bounty, through 
this State, or the United States, the selectmen are hereby directed 
to comply with such request, provided that the bounty of any 
volunteer in this town shall not be reduced after he has 
enrolled his name. 

Voted, 3d. That, if there shall not be sufficient money in the 
town treasury for the aforesaid purpose, the treasurer be and is 
hereby authorized to borrow, on account of said town, so much as 
will make up such deficiency for the period of one year. 

Voted, 4th. That the selectmen and the town clerk elect 
some person who shall be an inliabitant of th is town, and recom- 
mend him to the Governor of this State as a suitable person to be 
appointed as a recruiting officer in this town, and a commissioned 
officer in such company as the Sharon quota may be i^laced ; and 
in making such choice they shall consider his efficiency as a re- 
cruiting officer, his ability to command and his probable accept- 
ance by such company. 

Voted, 5th. That our representatives, Asahel A. Hotchkiss 
and John Henry Per Lee, be and are hereby appointed a commit- 
tee to co-operate and assist said recruiting officer. 

Voted, 6th. That the selectmen make a written report of 
their doings in the premises at the next annual town meeting. 

The following resolutions were adopted, as expressive of the 
sense of the meeting : 

Resolved, That we look upon the present as the crisis of the 
rebellion, a crisis from which we see no deliverance other than 
in the most prompt and energetic action. 



HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. lU!) 

Resolved, That every person and everj' community of doubt- 
ful loyalty should be regarded as disloyal, and the announcement 
should be made that we rely on no qualified Unionists to aid in 
this contest for great principles, but must only in the truly loyal, 
who will sacrifice property, life and even opinion for the common 
good. 

Resolved, That the time has fully come when we must strike 
for our national life, using every weapon God hath given us, 
and calling to our aid every person who can be drawn from the 
rebels or added to our cause. That a proclamation of the 
commander-in-chief declaring the provisions of the recent law 
of Congress to be the sentiments of the government, and that 
they will be enforced, would secure to the Union cause thous- 
ands of laborers, thousands of fighting men, and millions of co- 
operating well-wishers, that the welfare of our country, the lives 
of loyal soldiers, and the happiness of loyal families all over the 
free States, demand the proclamation. 

Resolved, That every day's delay complicates our relations, 
both foreign and domestic, gives the rebels strength, and is 
wasting hundreds of good and true men, and it is far better that 
every rebel should perish than that one more loyal soldier should 
die. 

And, therefore, it is that we, with entire unanimity, most 
respectfully and earnestly call upon the President to act in his 
capacity as Commander-in-chief of the Army and Navy of the 
United States, and immediately issue tlie order which will take 
from the rebels their great source of strength, while it will di- 
minish their army by calling to the defence of their homes large 
numbers of rebel ofiicers and men, and to assure the President 
that in this, as in every act of his administration, the people of 
the free States will sustain the policy, while the whole civilized 
world will applaud the Proclamation of Emancipation. 

Eecorded by HARRY LOCKWOOD. 

Town Clerk. 



CHAPTER XIII. 



BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES— FAMILY SKETCHES, GENEALOGIES, ETC. 



Abel, David, was from Lebanon, and came to Sharon in 
1760. He purchased of John Eoberts the lot of land on which 
Earl M. Cartwrigbt now resides. He had five sons, Sluman, 
David, William, John and Andrew. William was a soldier in 
the revolutionary war and a pensioner. Mr. Abel died June 
23, 1781, at the age of 60. The name of the neighborhood called 
Abel street was derived from him. 

Ackley, Thomas, from Chatham, came to Sharon, in 1768. 
He purchased of Phineas Post, of Lebanon, the thirty-second lot 
in the first hundred acre division. He lived on the Ellsworth 
turnpike, where William Whitney now lives. He had three 
sons, Thomas, David and Abraham. Thomas entered the 
revolutionary army in 1776, and was taken prisoner at capture 
of Fort Washington. He died during his captivity. Mr. Ackley, 
the father, died Nov. 6th, 1793, at the age of 67. 

Atherton, James, was an early settler from Coventry. He 
lived near the place now owned by Zalmon S. Hunt, Esq., south 
of Hitchcock's Corner. He had five sons, John, David, James, 
Simon and Moses. The family removed from the town in the 
course of a few years to Newton, N. J. 

Avery, William, was from Lyme, in 1777. He was a hatter 
by trade, and lived in Ellsworth, on the Perkins place, so called. 
He married a sister of Captain Isaiah Everett. He removed to 
Doanesburgh, N. Y. , early in the present century, where he 
died. 



HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. Ill 

Bacon, Jacob, was fx'om Canaan, in 1741, and lived where 
Charles Benton now lives. He was a large landholder ; he re- 
moved to Salisbury in 1748. 

Badcock, Zebulon, was from Coventry, and came to Sharon 
in 1745. He settled near where Dwight St. John now lives, but 
in 1747 he bought the seventeenth home lot, known as thePatchen 
place, now occupied by George H. Chase, Esq., and lived there 
nearly forty years. He afterwards returned to Coventry. 

Bailey, Joseph, was from Lebanon, and came to Sharon in 
1774. He purchased of Samuel Chapman, the farm on which his 
son, the late Deacon Joseph Bailey, resided, in Ellsworth. He 
died Sept. 15, 1802, at the age of 69. He had three sons, Joseph, 
Peletiah and Benjamin, who resided in the town and died there. 

Barnes, Thomas, was an early settler in the northwest part of 
the town, and lived near the present residence of Mr. Roswell H. 
Hazzard. He came into the town in 1750. He had three sons, 
Thomas, Dan and Jonah. He died in 1760. Thomas, the oldest 
son, lived on the same place until his death, March 7, 1807, at the 
age of 74. Dan lived in the town of Amenia, N. Y. Jonah, the 
youngest son, was a physician, and a man of great wit and 
shrewdness. He lived at what is now called the Evertson place, 
west of the Governor house. 

Barrows, David, came from Mansfield, before the revolution- 
ary war. He lived where Adonijah Maxam lived. He had no 
children. He died on the 6th day of January, 1815, at the age 
of eighty-three. 

Barrows, Amos, was a brother of the preceding, and lived 
many years where Stephen White lately lived, in the Great Hol- 
low. He kept a tavern, and was accidentally killed by falling 
from the hay loft in his barn, on the 5th day of December, 1779, 
at the age of 50 years. 

Barstow, Seth, was from Rochester, Mass., in 1771. He lived 
at the lower end of Abel street, where his grandson, Seth B. St. 
John now lives. He had five sons, Allen, Samuel, Seth, Gam- 
aliel and Charles. Samuel was a physician, who formerly lived 
in Great Barrington, Mass., and who died there in 1813. Gamal- 
iel was also a physician, residing in Broome county, N. Y. He 
was a member of Congress, and a member of the Senate and 
Treasurer of the State of New York. Mr. Barstow, the father, 
died in 1832. 



iri HISTOUY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. 

Bates, John, was one of the first settlers of the town. He 
lived a little below Henry Reed's present residence. His daughter, 
Sarah, who was born on the 25th day of February, 1789, was the 
first white child born in Sharon, except Jehiel Jackson. She was 
afterwards the wife of John Randall. Mr. Bates and his wife 
both died of the small pox, when it prevailed in the town in 
December, 1784. 

Beard, Nathan, was from Milton, in Litchfield. He came to 
Sharon in 1779. He purchased of the administrators of Charles 
Gillet, the farm on which the late John Jackson lived, and there 
resided. He for several years carried on the forge in Hutchinson 
Hollow. He died in 1792. He had a large family, of w^hom 
James Beard was the youngest son. 

Beardslee, John, was from Newtown, in 1760. He married a 
daughter of Cornelius Knickerbacker, and lived many years at the 
Sprague place, where the late Charles Prindle resided. 

Bennet, Capt. Edmund, was from the parish of Columbia, in 
Lebanon, and came to Sharon soon after the revolutionary war. 
He was a blacksmith by trade, and by his industry and economy 
accumulated a handsome estate. He lived on the mountain, two 
miles east of the meeting house. His wife was a daughter of 
Charles Gillet, who was killed in Canada in the revolutionary 
w^ar. He was for many j-ears town treasurer and held many im- 
portant oifices in the town. He died on the 1st of December, 
1829, at the age of seventy -four. One of his sons, Hon. Milo L, 
Bennett, was a judge of the supreme court of Vermont. 

Betts, James, was from Norwalk and came to Sharon at an 
early day. He lived near the Sprague place, in the Gay district. 
He died in 1758. He had two sons, Ezekiel and Zophar, the 
latter of whom officiated for many years as chorister in Mr. 
Smith's congregation. Zophar Betts died the 2d day of May, 
1778, at tlie aged af forty-four. 

Blackman, Dr. Simeon, was from Newtown, and came to 
Sharon in 1789, and settled on the mountain, where John Jack 
son, Sr., lives. He studied medicine with Dr. Shepherd, of New- 
town, and here acquired eminence and distinction in his pro- 
fessional career. He enjoyed a large share of the public con- 
fidence, and represented the town in the legislature at five 
sessions. He was an Episcopalian by religious profession, and 
in his last will beqvieathed to the society in Sharon, of which 
he was a member, the sum of two hundred dollars as a fund 
for the support of preaching. He died of dropsy on the 16th 
of August, 1812, at the age of fifty-three. He left no children. 



HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHAKOK. 113 

Boardman, Benjamin, came to Sharon in 1742, and settled 
where Edwin N. Hai'twell now lives. He sold the place to 
James Warren, in 1748. and built on the spot where Dwight 
Hotchkiss now lives. He had one son, Thaddeus Boardman, 
who lived on the west border of Mudge Pond. In 1786 the elder 
and younger Boardman sold their real estate to Frederick Lord, 
of Hartford, and removed to the west. 

Bogai'dus, Jacob, merchant, came to Sharon from Amenia, 
N. Y., in 1764. He lived in the old brick house, known as the 
Taylor house, a little north of Gov. Smith's. He was a Dutch- 
man, and built the large Dutch barn, which within a few years 
stood in close contiguity with the town street, near his dwelling- 
house. He sold his place in 1775, to Ebenezer Dibble, and again 
returned to the State of New York. He built the large brick 
house, one mile w^est of the village, now owned by Mr. 
Morehouse. 

Boland, David, was from Woodbury, in 1767. He was a 
Scotchman by birth, and purchased of Samuel Dunham, the 
tenth home-lot, originally Samuel Hutchinson's, being the same 
on which the old stone house owned by Anson Boland stood. 
He had two sons, William and David, both of whom were offi- 
cers in the revolutionary army. He was possessed of a valua- 
ble real estate, which by his last will he gave to his grandsons. 
Reuben and John Boland, during their lives, remainder to their 
eldest male heirs. 

His Epitaph. 
In memory of David Boland, who died Aug. 31, 1780, 
aged seventy -nine. 

The stage of life when once passed o'er, 
Fixes our state to change no more. 
Our work is great and must be done, 
An heaven to win, an hell to shun. 
Then seize the promise while you may, 
Nor lose one moment by delay. 

Botsford, Ephraim, was from Newtown, and came to Sharon 
in 1765. He purchased of Daniel Baldwin a tract of land in the 
north part of the town, opposite Homer Pardee's, and lived there 
until his death in 1795. He had two sons, Elnathan and Ephraim, 
the former of whom died in 1783, and the latter in 1831. 
* 15 



Hi HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. 

His Epitaph. 

In memory of Mr. Ephraim Botsford, 

Who departed this life Dec. 5th, 1795, aged seventy-four. 

When you, my friends, this tomb draw near. 
Bedew my urn with one kind tear ; 
Then look by faith to realms above. 
Where all is harmony and love. 

Epitaph on Wolcott, son of Ephraim Botsford, who died 
Sept. 1, 1785, aged eleven. 

The youth who late with vigor shone. 
Now lies interred beneath this stone. 
From death's arrest no age is free, 
Prepare, my friends to follow me. 

Bouton, Daniel, was from Stamford, and was the first settler 
on the lot owned by the late Cyrus Swan, Esq. He died Nov. 14, 
1740, at an early age. His widow. Elizabeth, afterwards married 
Abel Munn, who died in 1758. She continued to occupy the 
house of her first husband long after she became a widow the 
second time. She was often spoken of by aged people as old 
Mother Munn. 

Brockway, Walston, the first of the Brockway family in 
Sharon, came from Branford in 1752. He settled in the south- 
west part of the town, near the line of Kent, and died there in 
1813, at the age of ninety. His son, the late Asa Brockway, was 
a soldier of the revolution and a pensioner. 

Buel, Eliphalet, was from Salisbury, and was brother of 
the late Col. Nathaniel Buel, of that town. He came to Sharon 
in 1767, and settled where Homer Pardee lived. He died of the 
small-pox, on the 5th of February, 1777, aged forty-nine. His 
only son, Nathaniel, died a prisoner in New York, a short time 
before, and his wife soon after, of the same disease. Their 
common fate is commemorated in the following 

Epitaph. 
The only son is gone but twenty days. 
The indulgent father follows him to ye grave 
Where we must all repair ; alas, how soon 
Our morning sun goes down at noon. 



HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. 115 

The son and husband both are gone, 
The mother and the wife, how soon 
Must yield to death, and here to lie 
To tell the living they must die. 
Burr, Walter, was from Fairfield. He lived at what is 
called the Burr place, in the Valley, now owned by the Mallea- 
ble Iron Company, and owned a very valuable farm, a great 
portion of which is in the State of New York. He died in 1802. 
Calkin, Lieut. Stephen, was from Lebanon, and was an 
original proprietor of the town. He drew the thirty-first home- 
lot and lived where Abraham Weed lately lived. He had seven 
sons, Stephen, Joseph, Elijah, Timothy, Amos, Justus and David, 
all of whom settled in the town, and most of them in the same 
neighborhood with their father. The neighborhood which is 
called Calkinstown, perpetuates their name. Mr. Calkin died in 
1781. He was the grand-father of the late James Calkin and 
Justus Calkin. 

Camp, Abel, from New Milford, came to Sharon in 1769. 
He lived on the mountain where the late Capt. Bennett resided, 
and remained in town about twenty years. 

Canfield, Hon. John, was a son of Samuel Canfield, of 
New Milford, Avho was one of the judges of the county court, 
for Litchfield county, and a deacon of the church in New Milford. 
Mr. Canfield was born at New Milford in 1740, and graduated at 
Yale College in 1762. He studied law and established himself 
in the practice of his profession in this town, in 1765, being the 
first lawyer that lived here. He purchased of Parson Smith, 
the lot next south of Judge Sterling's, and built the old brick 
house owned by that gentleman. Mr. Canfield enjoyed an 
enviable reputation and was holden in high estimation by his 
fellow citizens. He represented the town in the legislature at 
ten different sessions. He was a professor of religion and en- 
joyed the reputation of a sincere and humble Christian. In 1786 
he was elected a member of the Continental Congress, and had 
he Hved to take his seat in that body, would probably have been 
a distinguished member. He died, however, on the 20th day of 
October, 1786, at the age of forty-six. The grief of the community 
at his death was general and deep, and the old men in after 
years spoke of him with unbounded confidence and attachment. 
He left but one son, John M. Canfield, Esq., who resided at 
Sackett's Harbor, N. Y., and a number of daughters. The Hon. 
John C. Spencer, Secretary of War, was his grandson. 



llfi HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. 

His Epitaph. 

Sacred to the memory of the Hon. John Canfield, 
A member of Congress from tliis State, 
who died the 26th day of October, A. D. 1786, 
in the forty-sixth year of his age. 

'Tis not for hfeless stone to tell thy worth, 

A partner's heart the deep impression wears, 
Thy orphans oft, around this hallowed earth. 

Shall tell a father's love with speaking tears, 
And numerous friends who swelled the tide of grief. 

Thy great and generous deeds shall oft relate, 
Thus through revolving years thy name shall live, 

'Till to immortal life, this slumbering dust shall wake. 

Canfield, Hon. Judson, was a son of Col. Samuel Canfield, 
of New Milford, and a nephew of Hon. John Canfield. He 
graduated at Yale College in 1782. He came to Sharon in 1787, 
and commenced the practice of law. He built the house now 
occupied by J. P. and G. D. Goodwin and lived there. He was 
a member of the house of representatives at seventeen sessions, 
and for several years a member of the council. He was also a 
judge of the court of common pleas. He left Sharon in 1815, 
and removed to the State of Ohio, where he died in 1839, at the 
age of more than eighty years. 

Canfield, Col. Samuel, was a brother of the preceding, and 
came to Sharon in early life. He was an assistant commissary 
of issues in the war of the revolution, and towards the close of 
his life drew a handsome pension. He was for many years a 
merchant of extensive business, and was town clerk from 1792 
to 1815, having succeeded Daniel Griswold, Esq., in that office. 
He was a member of the assembly at several sessions. He died 
while on a visit at Ppughkeepsie, N. Y. , on the first day of Octo- 
ber, 1837, at the age of eighty three. 

Carrier, Deacon Timothy, was from Colchester, in 1747. 
He bought of Jacob Bacon a part of the twelfth home lot, where 
Charles Benton now lives. He was appointed a deacon of the 
church in 1766, which office he held until his death. He had one son 
who survived him, and he removed from the town soon after the 
decease of his father. He died on the 22d of February, 1781, at 
the age of eighty-two. His wife died about the same time, and the 
stone which marks their resting place has upon it the following : 



HISTORY OP THE TOWN OF SHARON. 117 

Epitajih. 

Here man and wife, secure from strife, 

Lie slumbering side by side, 
Though death's cold hands dissolved the bands, 

It could not them divide. 
This tomb shall burst and yield its trust, 

This pair will live again, 
With purer love to soar above. 

Where joj's immortal reign. 

Cartwright, Nicholas, was the common ancestor of the Cait- 
w right family, which have been numerous in the town. He was 
originally from Barnstable. Massachusetts, and lived a short time 
on Philip's Patent, now South-East, New York. He came to 
Sharon in 1756, and settled near the place where Austin Cart- 
wright now lives. He was baptized in September, 1781, when he 
was nearly eighty years of age. He died in May, 1782. He had 
three sons Reuben, Christopher and Samuel. Reuben lived where 
George W. Peck lived. He died, leaving a numerous family, in 
May, 1790, aged forty. Christopher lived near David Curtis's 
late residence, and before the revolutionary war he removed to 
Shaftsbury, Vermont. In 1775 he joined the army under General 
Montgomery, and was in the battle of Quebec, in which Mont- 
gomery fell. He died of small-pox, in the American camp, on 
the Island of Orleans, before the retreat from Canada. Samuel 
lived where Austin Cartwright now lives. He was also in the 
army with his brother Christopher, but escaped his untimely end. 
He lived to a good old age, and died January 17th, 1819, aged 
seventy-eight. He left two sons, Nicholas and Anson, who are 
both now deceased. 

Chaffee, Joshua, was from Mansfield, and came to Sharon in 
1755. He married the only child of Matthew St. John, Jr., and 
first settled where John B. Smith now lives. In 1760 he removed 
to Ellsworth, where his son Joel S. Chaffee lived. He died in 
1789, aged fifty-six. He left three sons, Joel, Matthew and 
Joshua B. Matthew died soon after the death of his father. 
Joshua B. died in 1832. He was at the time of his death one of 
the magistrates of the town. 

Chamberlain, Deacon Isaac, was born in New Marlborough, 
Mass., and came to Sharon with his step-father, Mr. John HoUis- 
ter, in 1756. He was a carpenter and joiner by trade. He married 
a daughter of Jonathan Sprague, and had sevex'al children. He 



118 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. 

entered the armv early in the revolutionary war, and was sergeant 
of artificers. He was appointed deacon of the Congregational 
Church in 1799, which office he held till his death. He was a man 
of strong mind, of great decision of character, and for many years 
was one of the pillars of the town. 

His Epitaph. 

Deacon Isaac Chamberlain, a patriot of 76, 

A soldier of the revolution, and for many 

years of his subsequent life an 

officer of the first church in Sharon. 

Born in New Marlborough, Mass., Oct. 24, 1756, 

died at Sharon, July 14, 1833. 

Grounded and settled in the faith. — St. Paul. 

Chapman, Obadiah, was from Colchester, and came to Sharon 
in 1741. He settled in the south part of the town, opposite Fred- 
ei'ick Carter's present residence, He was the owner of a large 
real estate. He died in 1761. He left four sons, Obadiah, 
Pelatiah, Matthias and Robert. Obadiah died in 1763. Pelallah 
was the father of the late William Chapman, and he died in 1759. 
His widow afterwards married Dr. Ashbel Goodrich. Robert, the 
youngest son, and the survivor of them all, was a soldier in the 
old French war, and after his return from the service settled in 
the southwest part of the town, where his son, the late Elijah 
Chapman, lived. He died in 1814, at the age of eighty. He was 
the father of the late Obadiah Chapman. 

Chapman, Samuel, was from Colchester. He came with 
the first settlers. He settled on the forty-sixth home-lot, near 
John Jackson's. He afterwards removed to the lower end of 
Abel street where his grandson, Caleb Chapman, lived. He had 
three sons, Samuel, Ezekiel and Nehemiah. Caleb Chapman is 
a son of the last named. Ezekiel died a soldier in the French 
war. 

Chappel, Amos, was a son of Caleb Chappel, of Lebanon, 
one of the original proprietors. He came to Sharon in 1760, 
and settled in Ellsworth, where Charles B. Everitt lives. 

Church, Jehiel, was from Great Barrington, Mass., and 
lived a little north of the late Adolphus Everett's. He died 
May 1, 1819, at the age of seventy-seven. He had nine children. 



HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHAROX. 110 

Cluxton, Samuel, was originally from the old Plymouth 
colony. He came to Sharon in early life. He lived where 
Ansel Cartwright lived. He was a faithful soldier in the revo- 
lutionary war and died in 1820. 

Cole, Caleb, was from Norwalk, and came to Sharon in 1748. 
He settled on the place now owned by his great grandson, 
Albert Cole. He had sons, Zebulon, Matthew and David, which 
last named was the father of Caleb Cole and Richard B. Cole. 
He died in«1780. 

Coleman, Josiah, came from Hebron in 1771. He lived 
near where Austin Cartwright lives. He was a son of Noah 
Coleman, of Colchester, one of the original proprietors of the 
township. He was a practical surveyor, and was considerably 
employed in that business. He was a member of the General 
Assembly in October, 1783, and in May, 1784, and again in May, 
1788. He was also a delegate to the convention which ratified 
■ the Constitution of the United States, to the adoption of which 
he was very strongly opposed. One of his sons, Josiah, was 
taken prisoner at Fort Washington, in 1776, and on his return 
from captivity died at Milford, January 8th, 1777, of disease 
contracted in the British prison-ships. He had four other sons, 
Aaron, Elihu, Jesse and Amasa. The eldest, Dr. Aaron Coleman, 
lived at Warren, to a very advanced age. Mr. Coleman died 
February 23, 1813, aged eighty. 

Epitaph. 
When rocks dissolve and skies in smoke decay, 
Rise, sleeping dust, to an unclouded day. 

Comstock, Samuel, was from Lyme, and came into Sharon 
with the first settlers. He built a log house directly opposite 
John B. Smith's dwelling house, and a cluster of apple-trees 
which he planted the first year, is still standing. He was the 
first collector of taxes in the town, and was a highly respecta- 
ble man. He sold his place in 1748 to Deacon Matthew St. 
John, of Norwalk, and himself removed to New Fairfield. His 
home-lot was the thirty-second. 

Conkling, Capt. Benjamin, was from Norwalk, and lived 
for many years where Charles VanDeusen lived, in the Valley. 
He was often appointed selectman of the town, as well as to 
other ofiices. He afterwards lived in Vermont for several years. 



130 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. 

but towards the close of life returned to Hitchcock's Corner, 
where he died on the 1st of October, 1833, at the age of eighty- 
six. He was the father of Dr. Ebenezer H. Conkling, who 
formerly lived at Hitchcock's Corner. 

Corbet, John, was the first settler at the place where the 
late Samuel Petit lived, in the north part of the town, now 
owned bj^ George Lamb. He was from Lebanon, in 1743. He 
built a saw-mill, at an early day, near Abel Benedict's. He 
afterwards lived on the mountain at the Elderkin placq, so called, 
near Elijah Marsh's former residence. 

Crippen, Jabez, was from Colchester, and was an original 
proprietor of the township. He drew the twenty-first home 
lot, and his house stood on the ground now occupied by the 
Grosvenor house, so called, nearly opposite Governor Smith's. 
He was the first selectman ever chosen in the town. He had 
sons, Jabez, John, Samuel, Thomas and Joseph. His son Thomas 
lived where Milo R. Calkin now lives. About the year 1753, the 
father removed with several of his sons, into Amenia, N. Y., 
near where the late Jonathan Pennoyer lived ; and that neighbor- 
hood was formerly called Crippentown. Mr. Crippen died at 
Manchester, Vermont, about 1785. 

Crocker, Oliver, was from Lebanon, before the revolution- 
ary war. He settled where Philander Abel now lives, and 
died April 13, 1813, at the age of eighty-one. His widow 
died recently, at the age of more than ninety years. He left 
no son. 

Curtice, Caleb, was from Hebron and was an original pro- 
prietor. He drew the thirtieth home-lot, and lived where Ezra 
H. Bartram, Esq., now lives. He had sons, Caleb, Jeremiah, 
Daniel and Nathaniel. Caleb lived at the Lockwood place, near 
John S. Jewett's. Jeremiah lived at the Hanchet place, now 
occupied by A. Bryan, and Daniel at the place owned by the 
late Capt. Gibbs. Nathaniel lived on the home-lot. He was 
killed by the kick of a horse, October 19, 1803. Mr. Curtice, the 
elder, died November 30, 1777. at the age of seventy-four. 

Curtis, Seth, was from Danbury, and came to Sharon in 
1783. He lived where George W. Peck formerly lived. He was 
the father of the late Noah Curtis, and of the late David Curtis. 
He died March 37, 1804, at the age of sixty-seven. 

Day, Thomas, was from Colchester and came to Sharon in 
1755. He lived where Thomas N. Lucas, Esq., now lives on the 
mountain. He had two sons, Jonathan and Jeremiah, the 



IIISTOliY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. 121 

former of whom died in early life. Ilis younger son, Jeremiah, 
was educated at Yale College and graduated in 1756. Soon after 
he left college he was married, and settled in the town as a 
farmer. He was a constable in 1765 and 1766, and selectman 
the latter year. He was representative to the Assembly in 
October, 1766, and in May, 1767. His wife died in August, 
1767, and soon after that event he turned his attention to the 
ministry. He was, for many years, the minister of the parish 
of New Preston, in Washington. He was the father of the 
Rev. Jeremiah Day, D. D. , President of Yale College, and the 
Hon Thomas Day, for many years Secretary of the State of 
Connecticut. 

Epitaph. 

In memory of Mr. Jonathan Day, who departed 

this life January 8, 1763. 

Spectator ! here you see 

Exemplified in me. 

What you must shortly be . 

In memory of Mrs. Sarah Day, the late 

amiable coxsort of the Rev. 

Jeremiah Day, who 

departed this life Aug. 35, 1767. 

She gives life, but O, pitiable consideration ! 

gives it at the expense of her own, and at 

once becomes a mother and a corpse. 

Flere et meminisse relicturn est. 

In memory of Mr. Thomas Day, 
Died February 28, 1773, aged eighty-two. 

Life how short, 
Eternity how long ! 

Davis, Jonathan, was from Rutland, Mass., and came to 
Sharon in 1746. He purchased of Jacob Bacon, the sixth home- 
lot, opposite the stone house formerly owned by Anson Poland, 
He sold this property in 1750, and purchased a large tract of 
land below Hitchcock's Corner. He had one son, Ezra, who 
died in early life, leaving a widow and three children. Mr. Davis 
afterward lived over the line, in Oblong, but where he died is not 
known. 

* 16 



122 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. 

Delano, Deacon Thomas, was from Wareham, Mass. He 
lived a short time in Tolland, and came to Sharon in 1759. 
He settled in the southwest part of the town. The name was 
originally spelt De La Noy. Mr. Delano was chosen deacon of 
Mr. Knibloe's church in 1767. He died September 8th, 1803, 
aged seventy-seven. He had two sons, Jethit) and Stephen, 
the latter of whom died in 1840, at the age of more than ninety 
years. 

Epitaph. 

In memory of Jethro Delano, who died 

July 17, 1787, aged twenty-nine. 

Virtue alone to him did give, 
The gift of knowing how to live ; 
A pattern to the growing youth, 
A never failing friend of truth. 

Deming, Daniel, M-as from Saybrook, and came to Sharon in 
1783. He purchased of Amos Tyler, the place where his widow 
afterwards lived. He was the father of Stephen Deming, Esq. , late 
of Litchfield, and Dr. Ralph Deming of Sharon. He died May 15, 
1816, at the age of sixty-six. 

Dibble, Capt. Ebenezer, was from Salisbury in 1776. He 
lived in the Great Hollow, near,the watering place. He sold his 
farm to Adonijah Maxam in 1795, and removed to Saratoga 
county, N. Y. 

Dibble, Ebenezer, was a son of Rev. Ebenezer Dibble, of 
Stamford, formerly Episcopal missionary in Sharon. He was a 
merchant and owned the brick house now known as the Taylor 
house. In 1781 he sold out to Robert G. Livingston, Esq., of New 
York, and removed to Pine Plains, N. Y. , whei-e he died. He was 
the father of the late Fyler Dibble, Esq. . 

Dotey, Capt. Samuel, was the ancestor of the Dotey family. 
He was from the old Plymouth colony, and came to Sharon in 
1747. He lived a little south of Dwight St. John's. He practised 
surveying. He and his wife were both cut off by the small-pox 
in 1784. He had a son, David, who was a physician, and lived 
near Hitchcock's Corner, and was for a while a captain in the 
revolutionary service. He died February 9, 1817, at the age of 
seventy-six. 



HISTORY OF THK TOWN OF SHARON. 123 

Downs, David, Esq., was from New Haven, and came to 
Sharon about the year 1768. He married a daughter of Mr. 
Thomas Day, and settled on the mountain near John Jackson, Jr. 
He was a tailor by trade. He was captain of a comi)any in the 
revolutionary service, and was, with his company, taken prisoner 
at the Cedars in' Canada, in 1776. He was for many years one of 
the magistrates of the town, and one of its representatives in the 
Assembh^ at eleven sessions. He had several sons who main- 
tained a highly respectable character, but there are none of his 
descendants remaining in the town. He died December 13, 1813, 
at the age of seventy-seven. 

Dunham, Capt. Jonathan, was from Colchester, and was a 
leading man in the first settlement of the town. He lived opposite 
Richard Smith's, and there kept the first tavern in the town. He 
was the agent to the Assembly to procure the incorporation of the 
the township, and was appointed to call the first town meeting. 
He was standing moderator of all the town meetings holden 
during his life time, and selectman of the town during the same 
period. His race, however, was a short one, as he died on the 
38th day of February, 1745, at the age of fifty-nine. He had sev- 
eral sons, one of whom, Samuel, built the stone house formerly 
owned by Anson Boland. Capt. Dvxnham's grave stone is the 
oldest one in our church yard. 

Elliott, Samuel S., was fi"om Killingworth and came to Sharon 
in 17S0. He purchased of his brother-in-law, Reuben Hopkins, 
the place where Henry Reed now lives. His wife was the daugh- 
ter of Col. John Williams. He was the father of John A. Elliott, 
formerly a very worthy citizen of the town. He died on the 22d 
day of April, 1812, at the age of sixty. 

Elmer, Deacon Jonathan, was from Norwalk, and came to 
Sharon in 1746. He first purchased of Caleb Jewett, the lot on 
which Gov. Smith lived, and there resided till 1751, when he sold 
it to Jonathan Gillett, and removed to what is now called the 
Martin place, near the stone bridge. There he lived till his death 
Januai-y 5, 1758, at the age of seventy-three. He was highly 
respected as an officer in the church, and as a member of society. 
He had several sons, who lived in town, but there are none of his 
descendants, bearing his name, remaining among us. 

Elmer, Martin, was a son of the preceding, and was a cooper 
by trade, and a Baptist by religious profession. He lived a bach- 
elor, and died on the 8th day of August, 1778, at the age of 
seventy-three. The following epitaph is said to be highly expres- 
sive of his character : 



124 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. 

In silent shade, 
Here lies the dust 
Of him who made 
The Lord his trust. 

Elmer, Colonel Samuel, was a son of Deacon J. Elmer and 
was a brave officer in the revolutionary war. He was appointed 
a major in Col. Hinman's regiment, in 1775, and was engaged in 
active duty in the campaign of that year. The next year he was 
appointed a colonel in the New York line, and continued in com- 
mand of a regiment while he remained in the army. He lived in 
the town until about 1801, when he removed to the town of 
Elmore, in Vermont, where he remained until his death. He was 
the father of John Elmore, Esq., of Canaan.* 

Everett, Ebenezer, was from Hebron in 1745, and settled 
where Adolphus Everett lived. He had three sons, Isaiah, Ebe 
and Eliphalet, the two latter of whom were revolutionary soldiers. 
Eliphalet was for several years the steward of General Washing- 
ton's military family. He lived many years where Everett Dunbar 
now lives, in Ellsworth, but spent the latter part of his life in 
Watertown, N. Y. Isaiah Everett died August 4, 1834, at the age 
of eighty-two, leaving sons Adolphus, Asa, Gamaliel, Russell and 
William. Ebe Everett died January 5, 1840, at the age of eighty- 
six, leaving sons, Samuel E., Augustus, Elmore and John. 

Everett, John, was a brother of Ebenezer Everett, and came 
to Sharon from Windham in 1757. He was a blacksmith by trade, 
and lived on the road which formerly led north from Joel Whit- 
ford's, now discontinued. He had but one child, a daughter, who 
married Ebenezer Sprague. Mr. Evei-ett went to Ohio, in the 
early settlement of that state, and died there. 

Foster, David, was from Lebanon in 1750. He lived on the 
place which v^^as occupied by the late John Jackson, who was his 
son-in-law. He was a leading man in the affairs of the town for 
many years. He was a member of the Assembly at the October 
sessions in 1763 and 1764, and selectman eight years. He died in 
1793. 



* Col. Elmer's name was by mistake spelt Elmore, in the commission he 
received from Congress, and from that circumstance, he adopted the latter 
method of spelling it, and it has been continued by the family till the pres- 
ent time. 



HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. 125 

Foster, Elijah, was a son of the preceding, and was a highly- 
respectable man. He lived where John Jackson now lives, and 
was an early favorite of the town. He was for many years a 
constable. He entered the Continental army as a lieutenant in the 
campaign of 1776, and was in active service till the clo.se of the 
yeai-. 

His Epitaph. 

Here lies the body of Lieut. Elijah Foster, 

who died of the small-pox, January 14, 1777, 

in the forty second year of his age, 

on his return from the army. 

Inspired with freedom and her virtuous cause, 
To save his country from a tyrant's laws, 
Resolved an end to the unnatural strife, 
And in the glorious conflict, lost his life. 

Frisbie, Deacon Ebenezer, was from Branford, and was the 
first settler at the place occupied by the late Benjamin Bailey, on 
the Ellsworth turnpike. He came to Sharon with the first settlers, 
and being a surveyor, he was much employed in laying out lands 
in the early location of the township. He was town clerk from 
December, 1743, to January, 1746, and one of the deacons of the 
church nearly the whole time of his residence in the town. He 
had one son, Caj^t. Hezekiah Frisbie, who settled whei'e Aai'on 
Dunbar now lives, in Ellsworth. He died October 2Q, 1793, aged 
eighty-nine. 

Epitaph. 

How short is life we mortals see, 

How long is vast eternity, 

In time prepare for death and be 

Happy to all eternity. 

Deacon Frisbie was buried in the Ellsworth grave yard. 

Fuller, Benjamin, was from Colchester, and came with the 
first settlers. He lived on the next lot below Governor Smith's. 
He was among the first who died in the town, having departed 
this life in December, 1740. His widow afterwards married 
Nathaniel Skinner, Esq. He had three sons, Matthew, Josiah 
and Benjamin, the latter of whom was the father of the late Capt. 
John Fuller. 



136 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. 

Gager, Dr. Samuel R., was born at Norwich, May 23, 1763, 
and was an assistant surgeon in the navy in the revolutionary 
war. Soon after the close of the war he visited England. He 
established himself in Sharon in the practice of surgery in 1788. 
He was long celebrated in his profession, and was much respected 
as a citizen. He represented the town in the Assembly in the 
years 1831, 1832 and 1829. He was also for many years a justice 
of the peace. He died August 4th, 1835.* 

Gallow, Joseph was from Hudson, N. Y. , in 1785. He owned 
and occupied the place where R. W. Noyes now lives, and kept a 
tavern there for many years. He finally returned to Hudson, 
where he died. 

Gay, John, Esq. , was born in Dedham, Mass. , and in early 
life settled in Litchfield, and was among the first white inhabi- 
tants of that town. In 1743 he came to Sharon, and purchased of 
Israel Holley, the thirty-ninth home-lot, which was in the north 
part of the town. His house stood nearly opposite the present res- 
idence of his great-great-grandson, George Gay, Esq., and was 
standing till within a few years. Mr. Gay w^as a highly respecta- 
ble man, and lived to the advanced age of ninety-four. He died 
on the 6th of August, 1792. He had sons, John, Ebenezer, Fisher 
and Perez. John was the father of the late Capt. Daniel Gay. 
He died January 1, 1776, at the age of forty-eight. Ebenezer was 
a merchant, and built the brick house lately owned by Reuben K. 
Hunt. He was a colonel in the militia, and frequently command- 
ed detachments in the revolutionary war. He was the father of 
the late Mr. David Gay. He died July 16, 1787, at the age of six- 
ty-one. Fisher Gay settled in Farmington, where his descendants 
now reside. He died in the city of New York, early in the 
revolutionary war. Perez Gay died of small-pox in 1784. He was 
the father of Calvin Gay, Esq. 

Gibbs, Job, was from Wareham, Mass. , and came to Sharon 
in 1747. His house was the one next south of the Governor's 
mansion. Mr. Gibbs was a merchant and did a large business for 
those times. He had three sons, Sylvanus, Heman and Job. 
Capt. Sylvanus Gibbs, the eldest, was an officer in the revolu- 
tionary war, and died on the 19th of June, 1834, at the age of 
eighty-one. 

*It is worthy of remark that William Gager, the ancestor of the Gager 
family in this state, was of the same proftBsion as Lis descendant here 
noticed. Governor Dudley calls him a "right f,'(>(ll.v iiian and a skillful 
chyrurgeon." His son John came to Connecticut \vitli the younger Gov. 
Winthrop, and settled in New London, and from him Dr. Gager descended. 



HISTORY OP THE TOWN OF SHAROX. 127 

Epitaph. 
Here lies interred ye body of Job Gibbs. He died of ye 
small- pox, Dec. in ye 18th, 1760, in ye 37th year of his age. 

I'm here confined, as you must be, 

Oh then prepare to follow me, 

Because from death no age is free, 

Get faith in God's eternal Son, 

In him there is salvation. 

Boast not thyself of coming time, 

Because to morrow is not thine. 

Seek then, to-day, that you may find. 
Gillett, Jonathan, was from Colchester, in 1745. He lived 
in several places during his early years, but finally established 
hiiiiself, in 1753, where George Skinner now lives. Here he 
resided thirty years, and kept a tavern. He sold his place in 
1783, and purchased of Timothy Carrier, Jun., the place where 
Charles Benton now lives, where he resided till his death. He 
was representative to the Assembly at the May and October 
sessions in 1788, and a delegate to the convention called to ratify 
the constitution of the United States. His wife was a daughter 
of Thomas Day, and sister of Rev. Jeremiah Day, of New 
Preston. Mr. Gillett died December 31, 1814, at the age of 
eighty-nine. 

Gillett, Charles, was a brother of the preceding, and came 
to Sharon from Colchester, in 1755. He was a blacksmith by 
trade, and settled where John C. Loucks now lives. He was 
town treasurer from 1760 to 1771, when he removed to the 
mountain, having purchased of Rev. Jeremiah Day, of New 
Preston, the place lately owned by John Jackson. He enlisted 
into Capt. Downs' company, and marched to the northward in 
1776. While the army lay at the Cedars, in Canada, he was 
killed by a party of Indians, lying in ambush, as he was riding 
out on business connected with his duty as commissary. He 
left several children, one of whom was the wife of the late Capt. 
Edmund Bennett. 

Gillson, Eleazer, was from Goshen, Orange county, N. Y., 
and came to Sharon in 1784. He had been a soldier in the 
revolutionary war, and settled a little north of Elijah Juckett's. 
He was one of the first emigrants to Ohio, and the first mail 
carrier on the post road between Pittsburgh and Cleveland. 
He carried the whole mail in his pocket on foot. He died at the 
age of nearly ninety years. 



138 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OE SHARON. 

Goodrich, William, was the ancestor of the Goodrich family, 
which has been quite numerous in the town. He was originally 
from Wethersfield, and first moved to Litchfield, where he 
remained ten years. He afterwards removed to Shefiield, Mass., 
and when the townshiij of Sharon was sold, he became the 
purchaser of two rights. He bi'ought his family to the town in 
the fall of 1738, and built a hut near the outlet of Mudge Pond. 
Here he spent the winter, with no neighbors, except Indians, 
nearer than the Dutch settlements at Leedsville. He went to 
mill on foot, during the winter, once to New Milford, and once 
to Red Hook, N. Y. , on snow shoes, and carried his wheat on his 
back. That he was a sincere christian we may well believe from 
the introductory clause in his last will and testament, the first 
recorded on the probate records for the district of Litchfield. 
After speaking of the uncertaintj' of life as a reason for making 
his will, he says : " wherefore, committing my body to the dust, 
from whence it was taken, and my soul to the bosom of my dear 
Lord Jesus Christ, hoping and believing that he will raise me up 
with all his saints at the glorious morning of the resurrection, I 
give, &c, " Mr. Goodrich died on the 31st day of March, 1748, at 
the age of fifty-six. He had sons, Samuel, Jared, William, El- 
nathan, David, Elisha, and Solomon, and their descendants 
have been very numerous. His wife survived him about seven 
years, and one tombstone marks the resting place of both, on 
which is inscribed the following 

Epitaph. 
Here lies the husband and the wife, 
Interred beneath this double tomb. 
This double witness may suffice 
To prove that death will be our doom. 

Goodwin, John P., was from Hartford, and came to Sharon 
in 1784. He lived whei'e Myron Dakin now lives, and died on the 
5th of May, 1807, aged eighty-two. He had three sons, William, 
John P., and Hezekiah, the last of whom was a man much re- 
spected and beloved. He was a corporal in the continental army, 
and was eight years in the service. His discharge, under the 
hand of General Washington, spoke highly of his merits. He 
was a representative to the Assembly in May, 1818. He was 
killed at the raising of a small building, belonging to Benjamin 



HISTORY OF Tin-: TOWN OF SHARON. 121) 

Hollistcr, Esq., on the 15th of May, 1833, and his untimely end 
was deeply lamented. He died at the age of seventy-two. John 
P. Goodwin and George D. Goodwin are his surviving sons. 

Gould, John, was an original proprietor, from Hebron, and 
drew the thirty-fourth home-lot, the same on which Jacob Benson 
now lives. His house stood on the hill west of Benson's f)resent 
dwelling house. He appears to have been at one time a man of 
handsome estate, but in old age became poor, and was supported 
by the town. He was grave digger for many years. He died 
about 1782. 

Gould, Job, was from New Milford, in 1763, and purchased 
of Deacon Jackson, the place on the mountain lately owned by 
his grandson, Major David Gould — now by John Jackson. He had 
two sons, Job and David, the former of whom settled in Mudge- 
town, near Baldwin Reed's, and the latter remained on the 
mountain. Mr. Gould, the elder, died February 37, 1795, at the 
age of ninety-five. His son, David, died April 19, 1824, at the age 
of seventy-seven. Job, Jun., died at the time indicated in the 
following 

Epitaph. 

Sacred to the memory of Job Gould, Jun. , 

Who died April 19, 1794, aged fiftj^-nine. 

O painful thought, yet we must know, 
The grave's the place where all must go. 
If dear, good, wise and just they be, 
Yet death's their lot, as here we see. 
Gray, John, was from Scotland, and came to Sharon in 17-13. 
He first settled in the Valley, and his house stood on the bank, a 
little east of the Valley store. In 1748, he sold this place to Abel 
Wood, and removed to the mountain, a little east of the Gould 
place, where he died in 1761. He left sons, John, Silas, Darius 
and William. Darius was the father of the late Silas A. Gray, 
Esq. The revolutionary services of William have been described 
in a former page. 

Gregory, Joseph, was from Norwalk in 1759. He lived wliere 
Joel C. Whitford now fives. He was a merchant for many years. 
He removed to CatskiU, N. Y., where he died. He had sons, 
Stephen, Justus, Ebenezer, Uriah, Elias and Daniel. 

Griswold, Ephraim, was an early settler, and lived where 
Richard Woodward now lives. He had three sons, Azariah, 
David and Jabez. He removed to Spencertown, N. Y., before 
* 17 



130 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. 

the revolution. Azariah Griswold was a subaltern officer in 
the revolutionary army. He lived where John Boyd, Esq., now 
lives. He sold this place in 1786 to John Foster. 

Griswold, Daniel, Esq., was from Norwich in 1756. He lived 
where Richard Smith, Esq. , now lives. He was a physician and 
pursued the practice of his profession for many years. He was 
appointed a justice of the peace at an early day. On the death 
of Col. Williams, in 1774, he was appointed town clerk, which 
office he held until his death. He also succeeded the latter gen- 
tleman as deacon in the church. 

Epitaph. 
Sacred to the memory of Daniel Griswold, Esq., 
who departed this life Dec. 23, 1792, 
aged sixty-six. 

The wise, the good, the virtuous and the just. 
Lies here entomb'd to moulder into dust. 
But death must yield, resign the mouldering clay. 
To shine and sparkle in eternal day. 

Griswold, Francis, was a brother of the preceding, and 
came to Sharon in 1762. He was a tanner and currier by trade, 
and he lived on the corner a little north of Solomon Bierce's. 
His tannery was near his house, where the cider mill stood. 
He died November 6, 1778, at the age of forty-three. 

Griswold, Capt. Adonijah, another brother of Daniel Gris- 
wold, Esq., came to Sharon in 1762. He settled in Mudgetown 
where Solomon Bierce now lives. He was a lieutenant in Capt. 
Down's company in 1776. He died Sept. 19, 1807, at the age of 
sixty eight. He had three sons, Adonijah, Chester and John, 
the latter of whom lived in Tompkins county, N. Y. 

Hamilton, David, was from Lebanon, and was the first settler 
on the place owned by Judge Sterling. He afterwards lived 
opposite Governor Smith's. He appears to have been the great 
land speculator of the day, his name appearing on the records, 
as the grantor or grantee in deeds, more frequently than any 
other. He was also for a time deputy sheriff. He died in 1781, 
leaving sons, Dudley, John and Joseph. Joseph was a physician, 
and practiced medicine in the town for several years. Dudley 
formerly lived where William Marsh now lives. Mr. Hamilton 



HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. UJl 

disposed of most of his real estate in town previous to his death. 
He was largely interested in land in Vermont, and in what was 
called the Susquehannah Purchase. 

Hamlin, Cornelius, was an early settler from Wareham, 
Massachusetts and lived near Mrs. Hunt's. He afterwards 
lived in the Hollow, near the iron works, in which he was a 
part owner. He also lived for a while near the head of Mudge 
Pond. In 1760 he removed to Spencertown, New York, but soon 
returned, and here spent his days. He had one son, Cornelius, 
wlio died in early life. 

Hamlin, Deacon Ebenezer, was also from Wareham, and 
first lived where George Skinner now lives. He afterwards 
removed to the south part of the town, below Hitchcock's 
Corner. By his last will, he left 24 pounds old tenor bills, for 
the support of the gospel in the Congregational society at the 
Corner. He had sons, Ebenezer, Thomas, Isaac and Lewis. 
Thomas was the grandfather of Philo Hamlin, who is the only 
descendant of Deacon Hamlin now remaining in the town. 
Deacon Hamlin died in 1755. 

Hamlin, Deacon Benjamin, was son of Deacon Eleazer 
Hamlin, of Fredericksburgh, now Carmel in Putnam county. 
New York. He came to Sharon in 1780, and lived at different 
places in the northwest part of the town. He was elected Deacon 
of the Congregational Church in 1793, and held the office till his 
death. He maintained a very pure and spotless character, and 
died universally lamented. 

Epitaph. 

The remains of Benjamin Hamlin, 

Seniour Deacon of the first Church of Christ in Sharon, 

whose piety, meekness, and sweetness of temper, rendered him 

alike a blessing to the church, an ornament to society, 

and the delight of his acquaintance. 

This eminent servant of God, 
expired in full assurance of a blessed immortality, 
on the 6th Oct., 1830, in the 61st year of his age. 

Hanchet, Sylvanus, was from Salisbury, in 1769. He lived 
where Alden Bryan now lives. He is celebrated as being the first 
person who formally invited the Methodist preachers into Sharon, 
in 1788. It was at his house that the first Methodist society was 



132 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. 

formed, by Rev. Freeborn Garretson, and where public worship 
was celebrated for several years. He removed to the state of New 
York many years since, where he died. 

Harvey, Joel, was from New Milf ord, in 1742, and settled in 
the Valley. He built a grist mill, which stood more than sixty 
years. He also built the stone house, in the Valley, in 1747. He 
was a large landholder, and had a very numerous family, many 
of whom died of the consumption. Mr. Harvey died Dec. 26, 
1796, at the age of 84. His Epitaph : 

All nations must, 
Return to dust. 

Hatch, Capt. Ebenezer, was from Kent, in 1768. He lived on 
the place now owned by Zalmon S. Hunt, Esq., below Hitchcock's 
Corner. He was a respectable man, and served many years as 
selectman, and in other important offices. He left the town 
many years since. 

Heath, Bartholomew, was from Lebanon, and was among the 
first settlers. He lived in the north part of the town, where Bird 
Reed now lives. 

Epitaph. 

In memory of Mr. Bartholomew Heath, who died Feb. 11, 1789, 

in ye 79th year of his age. 

My glass is run, my days are spent. 
The fleeting moments heaven hath sent ; 
And now to God I yield my breath. 
And calmly fall asleep in death. 

Hide, David, was from Lebanon, in 1748. He purchased of 
Samuel Gillet the 41st home lot, the same on which Homer Pardee 
lived. He was appointed constable in 1750, and served in that 
capacity, and as collector, ten years. He was also a deputy 
sheriff for several years. 

Hide, William, was from Lebanon, in 1759. He lived where 
Charles Reed now lives. He had two sons, Eleazer and William 
W. He died Dec. 26, 1770, at the age of fifty. 

Hitchcock, Samuel, was from Norwalk, in 1752. He pur- 
chased of Jonathan Gillett the place where Gov. Smith lived, and 
resided there five years. He then removed to the south part of 
the town, where his son, the late Asa Hitchcock lived, and there 
spent -the remainder of his days. It was at his house that the 



HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. 133 

first Methodist sermon preaclied in the town was delivered. He 
died January 1, 1794, at the age of sixty-eiglit. He had seven 
sons, Samuel, Thomas, Solomon, Amariah, Penuel, Stephen and 
Asa. The latter died Dec. 26, 1829, at the age of fifty-nine. 

Holley, Israel, was an early settler, from Stamford. He 
tirst owned and lived in the 89th home lot, whicli he sold to 
John Gay, Esq. , in 1743, and removed to the Great Hollow. He 
there lived on the place lately owned by Capt. Dibble. He had 
two sons, Israel and Nathaniel. 

Holley, Joseph, was from Stamford, and was the original 
owner of one-half of the 36th home lot, the same on which the 
late George Bissell afterwards lived. This he sold, in 1743, to 
John Sprague, and he afterwards lived in Turkey Hollow, a 
little north of Elijah Juckett's. He had three sons, Jonathan, 
John and Sylvanus. Jonathan removed to Richmond, Massa- 
chusetts. Sylvanus lived near the outlet of Indian Pond. John, 
who was the second son, was the father of Luther Holley. Esq. , 
who was for many years an eminent citizen of the town of 
Salisbury. This last named gentleman was born in Turkey 
Hollow in 1752. 

HoUister, Josiah, from Glastenbury, was the common ances- 
tor of the HoUister family which resided in the south part of the 
town. He purchased of Matthew Judd, in 1742, ihe 2d home lot, 
the same on which John B. Lovell lived. He had two sons, 
Josiah and Samuel. Josiah settled on the home lot, and Samuel 
settled where Elijah Juckett now lives. Josiah had two sons, 
John and Benjamin. Benjamin settled in Oblong, New York, 
near the present village of Leedsville, where his descendants yet 
remain. He died Oct. 3, 1801, at the age of 74. Lieut John 
HoUister died May 19, 1769, at the age of fifty, leaving sons, 
Jeremiah, David, John, Nathan and Josiah. John was killed at 
the battle of Stillwater, in 1777. David became the owner of a 
large and valuable real estate. He lived where Enoch Lambert 
lived. He was the father of the late John J. HoUister, and of 
Joseph L. HoUister, who was the last survivor of this once large 
large family. 

Epitaph. 
In memory of David HoUister, who departed this life 
Feb. 20, 1807, in the 53d year of his age. 
Alas ! how soon all earthly joys are fled. 
Our dearest friend is buried with the dead . 
In vain we mourn, in vain the loss deplore, 
In vain look back to what he was before. 
From us he's gone, on earth he's seen no more. 



134 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. 

Hollister, Samuel, from whom the family of that name in 
the south-east part of the town are descended, was from the parish 
of Kensington, in Farmington, now Berlin. In 1744 he pur- 
chased of Dr. George Hollo way, of Cornwall, one hundred acres 
of land on the Ousatonic River, which had formerly been laid out 
to Joseph Skinner. There he settled and died. He had two 
sons, Gershom and Elisha. Gei'shom was unfortunately killed 
at the raising of a barn, in Cornwall, in 1792. Elisha lived to an 
advanced age, and died in 1815. He left sons, Samuel, Elisha, 
Amos and Asahel. There are many of his descendants yet 
remaining in that neighborhood. 

Hunt, Rev. Aaron, who for the last thirty years of his life 
was a citizen of Sharon, was a Methodist clergyman, of high 
standing in that denomination of Christians, and whose repu- 
tation is eminent among the early lights of the church. He 
commenced preaching in 1791, and for more than fifty years was 
an able, active and efficient itinerant minister. On retiring 
from active duty, he purchased the farm now owned by his son, 
Zalmon S. Hunt, Esq. , south of Hitchcock's Corner, which was 
his home for the remainder of his life. There he died April 
25th, 1858, aged ninety years and one month. His biographer 
says of him, that he had a clear, strong intellect, was an earnest 
Christian and an able and highly successful minister. 

Hunt, Daniel, was from Lebanon, at the earliest settlement 
of the town. He lived on the mountain, at what was called the 
Randall house, now the residence of Wm. S. Marsh. He after- 
wards lived at the Tanner place, near Augustus L. Peck's. He 
removed to Vermont before he died. One of his daughters, who 
was the mother of Dr. Sears, lived to the age of ninety-four years. 
Another daughter was the mother of Dr. Ralph Deming. 

Hunt, Phineas, a brother of the preceding, was f I'om Lebanon 
in 1747. He bought of Caleb Chappell, the farm on which his 
descendants resided, in Ellsworth. He had but one son, the late 
Phineas Hunt, to whom, by his will, he gave all his estate. He 
died August 22, 1787, at the age of 72. The son died Oct. 38, 1827, 
at the age of 69. 

Hunter, Jonathan, was from Wareham, Massachusetts, where 
he had been deacon of the church. He came to Sharon in 1747, 
and purchased of Benjamin Richmond the farm on which Benja- 
min Sears lived. His wife was a daughter of Deacon Ebenezer 
Hamlin. He died in 1762. He had two sons, David and Jona- 
than, who removed, soon after his decease, to Stillwater, New 
York. His widow afterwards married Lieut. John Pardee. 



HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. 135 

Hunter, Ebenezer, was from Norwich, about the year 1760. 
He lived on the mountain, in the southwest part of the town. 
His son, Nathaniel Hunter, was a soldier in the Revolutionary 



Hurlburt, Capt. Samuel, was fi'om Lebanon in 1743. He pur- 
chased of Caleb Strong, the west half of the 25th home lot, on 
which Charles L. Prindle now lives. He was the first merchant 
in the town. He was at one time possessed of a large and valua- 
ble estate, but before the close of his life he was reduced to 
poverty. He died June 4, 1789, aged seventy-seven. 

Hutchinson, Samuel, Esq., was one of the first settlers, and 
the second magistrate in the town. He was from Lebanon, and 
drew the 10th home lot, the same on w-hich the stone house 
owned by Anson Boland stood. In 1751 he sold that place, and 
purchased the first minister's lot of the Rev. Peter Pratt. His 
house stood where Perry Loucks' tavern now stands. In 1763 he 
removed to Spencertown, New York, where it is supposed he 
died. He had three sons, Samuel, Ezra and Solomon, the two 
latter of whom settled in this town, and gave the name to Hutch- 
inson Hollow, where they lived. 

Jackson, Deacon Ebenezer, was from Norwalk, and settled 
on the 42d home lot, now owned by John Jackson, on the moun- 
tain. He was early chosen Deacon of the church, and was a 
highly reputable and useful man. He had six sons, Ebenezer, 
Joshua, John, Abraham. Stephen and Joseph, most of whom 
settled in the eastern part of the town. In 1763 he sold his home 
lot to Job Gould, and from that time lived with one of his sons at 
the River, till his death, in 1766. An uncommon incident 
attaches to the farm on which he settled, in the fact, that it has 
been held by owners of the family of Jackson and Gould from 
the first ownership by Deacon Jackson to the present time. 

Jewett, Capt. Caleb, was from Norwich, now Lisbon, in 1743. 
He first purchased and occupied the lot on which Gov. Smith 
lived, but in 1744 he sold it to Deacon Elmer, and bought of Sam- 
uel Chapman, the farm on the mountain now owned by his 
grandson, John S. Jewett. He was selectman of the town twelve 
years, and Representative to the Assembly at eleven sessions. He 
had sous, Caleb, Nathan, Thaddeus and Alpheus, the last of whom 
after a life of much public employment, and of great usefulness, 
died at the age of eighty -six. 



136 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. 

Epitaph. 

In memory of Capt. Caleb Jewett, 

who died Jan. 18, 1778, in the 68th year of his age. 

Let not the dead forgotten Ue, 
Lest we forget that we must die. 

Jennings, Joseph, was from Fairfield in 1771. He lived at 
the place lately owned by George Bissell. He died August 5, 
1780, at the age of sixty-four. He left sons, Justin, Reuben, 
Charles and Joseph. They all left town soon after the death of 
their father. 

Johns, Benjamin, was an early settler in the Valley, and 
lived on the Burr place. He sold out in 1752 to Samuel Smith, 
and removed into the State of New York, near the late residence 
of Moses Clark, in North East. He died of the small-pox. 

Jones, Evan, vras the first settler upon the place owned by 
Deacon William M. Smith, which was the old parsonage of Par- 
son Smith. He came with the first settlers, from Hebron, and 
remained in the town till 1750, when he sold out to the Rev. 
John Searl. 

Juckett, Elijah, was originally from old Plymouth Colony, 
Massachusetts. He served faithfully and honorably through the 
Revolutionary war, and was a sergeant in the light infantry 
under General LaFayette. He was in the severe conflict at Stony 
Point, when that post was taken by General Wayne, as well as in 
several other battles. He was a pensioner under the act of 1818. 
He died in 1839, at the age of seventy-eight. 

Kellogg, Oliver, Esq., was from Sheffield, Massachusetts, and 
settled in Sharon in 1788. He was a clothier by trade, and lived 
at Hitchcock's Corner. He was a highly respectable and influen- 
tial citizen, and was a representative to the Assembly at sixteen 
sessions. He was also for many years one of the magistrates of 
the town. He died Sept. 17, 1830, at the age of seventy. 

Ketcham, Elihu, was the first settler on the Bates place, so 
called, now owned by Mr. Liner. This he sold in 1748 to John 
Marvin, Jr. From that time to 1753 he lived near the school 
house in the Boland district, when he left the town. 

King, George, was from Windsor, in 1784. He had pre- 
viously been connected with the commissary department of the 
army, and at the close of the war established himself as a 
merchant, in company with Eli Mills. He prosecuted business 



HISTORY OF THE TOWN OP SHARON. 137 

with great success for many years, and accumulated a large and 
valuable estate. He died Nov. 31, 1831, at the age of seventy- 
seven. 

Knibloe, Rev. Ebenezer, some account of this gentleman is 
given in a foregoing part of this work. It may here be added 
that he had three sons, William, Elijah and John P., all of whom 
were cut off within a few weeks of each other, by the epidemic 
which swept over the town in 1812. 

Knickerbacker, Cornelius, was one of the early Dvitch in- 
habitants of Salisbury, and lived at the Furnace Village. In 
1748 he exchanged farms with Capt. John Sprague, and took 
possession of the 37th home lot, where the Messrs. Prindle now 
live, in Gay street. The pond now called Beardslee Pond, was 
for many years called Knickerbacker's Pond, from its vicinity 
to his residence. He died March 3, 1776, at the age of eighty- 
four. 

Lake, Joseph, was a soldier in the old French war, and in 
the war of the Revolution. He came to Sharon from Stratford, 
in 1772, and purchased of Jabez Hamlin the place where his son, 
Andrew Lake, lived, near the Indian Pond. He lived for many 
of the last years of his life, in the eastern part of the town, where 
William Stone, Esq., now lives. He died April 24, 1813, at the 
age of seventy -four. 

Landers, Joseph, was from Wareham, Massachusetts, in 
1748. He bought of Caleb Chappell the 8th home lot, on which 
Dr. Ralph Deming now lives. He died on the 5th day of August, 
1781, at the advanced age of ninety -four. His wife, who died 
the preceding January, reached the age of ninety-seven. 

Their Epitaph. 
Behold and see this wonder here, 
This couple lived full seventy year 
In wedlock bands ; now yield to death. 
Ninety odd years 'tis from their birth. 

Landers, Joseph, Jr., was a son of the preceding, and lived 
with his father on the 8th home lot. He was appointed a deacon 
of the church in 1781, in the place of Deacon Frisbie, resigned, 
which office he retained till his death. He was a representative 
to the Assembly at the May session in 1783, 
* 18 



138 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. 

Epitaph. 

In inemory of Deacon Joseph Landers, who died 

August 31, 1801, aged 79. 

Entomb'd in earth, beneath this stone, 

My aged body lies at rest, 
With this terrestrial ball I've done. 

And now reside among the blest. 
Far from confusion here I lie, 

And calmly rest my hoary head ; 
My loving friends, prepare to die. 

For there's no peace but with the dead. 

Lewis, Samuel, was from Hebron, in 1743. He was the first 
settler on the 9th lot in the first hundred acre division, the same 
where Ichabod Everitt now lives, in Ellsworth. He continued 
in town about thirty years, and then removed to New Ashford, 
Massachusetts. His son, Samuel Lewis, Jr. , was a soldier in 
the early part of the Revolutionary war, and a history of his 
captivity in England, and his escape, is given in the former part 
of this work. He died soon after his return, leaving a wife and 
three children. 

Lillie, David, was from Windham, in 1765. He settled in 
Gay street, and built the house now owned by Mr. Prindle. He 
removed to Ohio about the year 1800. 

Lockwood, Nathaniel, was from New Canaan, in 1784, 
and purchased the farm on the mountain known as the Lock- 
wood place, near Mr. Jewett's. He died Feb. 26, 1785, at the 
age of thirty-three, of consumption. His widow afterwards 
married John Williams. 

Lord, Jonathan, was from Colchester, and was one of the 
first inhabitants of Ellsworth, where he settled in 1743. He 
lived where Horace Dunbar, Esq., now lives. He died in 
1760. 

Lord, Joseph, Esq., was a son of the preceding, and came 
to the town with his father in 1743. He was for many years 
the only Justice of the Peace in Ellsworth. He was for several 
years a selectman, and member of the Assembly in October, 
1777. He died Oct. 28, 1778, at the age of fifty-eight. He 
was the first person buried in the burying yard now used in 
Ellsworth. 



HISTORY OP THE TOWN OF SHARON. 139 

Lott, Baltus. This individual appears to liave been a 
squatter upon the pubhc lands before the township was sold. 
He was probably a Dutchman, and had taken possession of a 
considerable tract of land in Connecticut and New York, and 
had erected a house and barrack, and made considerable clear- 
ings. His territory embraced what is now called the Burr farm. 
The proprietors made many efforts to remove him, but he resisted 
them all until March 1743, when Joseph Skinner purchased his 
possessions for 300 pounds old tenor, and he went away. He 
afterwards lived in the north part of Amenia, New York. 

Lovell, John, came to this part of the country from Roch- 
ester, Mass., in 1745. He first settled in Oblong, New York, 
where George H. Swift, Esq., now lives. In 1770 he removed to 
Sharon, and purchased of David Boland the 2d home lot, where 
his great-grandson, Chaflfee Lovell now lives. He died Nov. 3, 
1789, at the age of fifty-eight. His only son, Captain Joshua 
Lovell, who was a respectable citizen of the town, lived upon 
the same place until his death, in February 1838, at the age of 
seventy-one. 

Lovell, Joseph, was from Rochester, Massachusetts. He 
first settled in Kent, but in 1767 he purchased the 35th lot in 
the first hundred acre division, of Samuel HoUister, Jr. He 
lived at what was formerly known as the Cluxton place, on the 
road leading east from Caleb Chapman's. He had two sons, 
Levi and Joseph. 

Manrow, Joseph, was from Norwalk, in 1744. He settled on the 
corner opposite John S. Jewett's, and the old orchard which he 
planted is still standing. In 1750 he exchanged farms with 
Matthew Fuller, and removed to the mountain, near David 
Curtis'. In 1752 he sold this place to John Jackson, and became 
the owner of a grist-mill near the Bates place. This property he 
sold in 1757 to David Hamilton, and removed from the town. 

Manrow, Noah, was for more than forty years an inhabitant 
of Mudgetown. He came from Salisbury in 1751. He lived 
on the borders of the Pond, in a house lately destroyed by fire, 
then owned by Capt. Benjamin Lines. He died May 5, 1793, at 
the age of sixty-four. He left sons, Noah, Younglove, Daniel, 
and Philo. 

Marchant, Amos, from Newtown, came to Sharon in 1773. 
He bought of Ebenezer Sprague the home lot on which Cal- 
vin Gay, Esq., lived, and built the brick house owned by that 



140 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. 

gentleman. He was one of the victims of the small-pox, which 
swept over the town with such terrible severity in 1784. He had 
sons, Joseph, Ashbel, Wheeler and Elijah. 

Epitaph. 

In memory of Amos Marchant, who died of the small-pox 

Dec. 19, 1784, aged 63. 

Though death be potent as a king. 
And wounds with his envenom'd sting, 
Yet faith fresh vigor will impart, 
To rob the tyrant of his dart. 

Marriner, Capt. Ephraim, was from Colchester, in 1765. 
He settled in Abel street, where Stephen Tickner lived, and 
lived there until 1786. He then removed to the north part of 
the town, and resided there till his death in 1810. He was a 
member of the Assembly in May 1787, and in May and October 
1788. He had two sons, Ephraim and Buel, who removed to 
Yates Co. , New York, several years since. 

Marsh, Pelatiah, was from Lebanon in 1764. He settled in 
the east part of the town, where his grandson, Elijah Marsh, 
lived. He died April 8, 1790, at the age of eighty-three. His 
son, Jesse Marsh, father of Elijah Marsh, lived at the same place, 
and died October 25, 1833. at the age of eighty. 

Martin, EUphalet, was from Windham in 1786. He first set- 
tled where Adonijah Maxam lived in the Hollow, which place had 
previously been owned by David Barrows. He afterwards pur- 
chased of Dr. Samuel Rockwell, the Elmer place, near the stone 
bridge, where he resided till his death. He was much employed 
in the business of the town. He died April 11, 1801, at the age of 
forty-seven. 

Marvin, John, Jr. , was from Norwalk in 1748. He bought of 
EUhu Ketcham, the farm called the Bates place, about one mile 
easterly from the meeting house, and lived there. He was also a 
part owner in the iron works at the mouth of Mudge pond. In 
1753, he sold the Bates place to his father, who then removed to 
the town, and who died Feb. 9, 1774, at the age of ninety-six. Mr. 
Marvin was a member of Assembly in May 1756 and 1768. In 
1770 he removed to Brook Haven, Long Island, where he resided 
till his death in 1783. 



HISTOEY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. 141 

Maxam, Adonijah, was from the old Colony in 1748. The 
name, in the early records, is spelt Muxam, and is so pronounced 
by elderly people at the present day, Mr. Maxam settled where 
Orrin Abel lived on the Ellsworth turnpike, where he died in 
1760. He left four sons, Samuel, Benjamin, Adonijah and Jacob. 
The third son, Adonijah, after having gone through the active 
and perilous services of the revolutionary war, which have been 
detailed in a preceding chapter, died at the age of ninety-seven 
years. 

(Front.) 
Adonijah Maxam, 
Born at Sharon, 

Dec. 28, 1754. 

Died Nov. 23, 1850. 

JE 97 years. 

(Reverse.) 

As a true Patriot he served his country faithfully 

in the war of the Revolution. As a friend he 

was warm and constant in his attachments, 

while he was strongly opposed to those he 

deemed the enemies of his country and of the 

Christian faith. As an honest man, a useful 

citizen and a devoted Christian he lived respected 

and died lamented. 

Millard, Joshua, was from Cornwall, in 1768. He was the 
first settler upon the place now owned by Robert Buckley, in 
Ellsworth. He remained in town about thirty years, and then 
i-emoved to Egremont, Mass. 

Miller, Henry, was from Branford, in 1750. He was the first 
settler on the farm now owned by Deacon Jabez Swift, on the 
Ousatonic river, and his house, the remains of which are still vis- 
ible, was on the old road that formerly led north from Swift's 
bridge. He afterwards lived in Kent. He was the grandfather of 
Hubbel Miller, Esq., of Kent. 

Miller, Deacon Gain, was born in Ireland, in 1716. He came 
to Sharon in 1763, and purchased of Daniel Hunt, the place for- 
merly occupied as a poor house, near Frederick Parson's, where 
he resided during his life. He was elected deacon July 6, 1781, 
which office he resigned in August, 1799, and the late Deacon 
Chamberlain was chosen in his place. He left one son, the late 
Thomas Miller, who was the father of the late Daniel Miller. 



142 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. 

Epitaph. 
In memory of Deacon Gain Miller, who died 
Nov. 16, 1809, aged ninety-three. 

I've long'd to join the heavenly song, 

Of anthems ever new. 
To Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, 

And bid the world adieu. 

Mudge, Ebenezer, was one of the original proprietors of the 
town, and was from Colchester. He drew the twenty-fifth home 
lot, lying on both sides of town street, and embracing the place 
now owned by Charles L. Prindle and Baldwin Reed on the west, 
and by Deacon A. C. Woodward, Estate of Reuben Hunt, Mr. 
Terrett and Mr. Skinner, on the east. In 1743 he settled on the 
western border of Skinner's Pond, as it was then called. Here 
he lived until his death April 21, 1758, at the age of seventy-five. 
He had six sons, viz. : Samuel. Mica, Abraham, Ebenezer, Jarvis 
and Joseph. Samuel lived on the place now owned by Baldwin 
Reed. 2d, w-hich he sold in 1772, to Job Gould, Jun. Mica hved 
a while in Ellsworth, and was a part owner of the first mill near 
Wm. Emons's. He removed to Albany county, New York, in 
1758. Abraham lived at the Griswold place, now owned by Sol- 
omon Bierce. Ebenezer removed to Canaan in 1763, where he 
lived till 1775 when he removed to New Ashford, Mass. Jarvis 
settled on the homestead, but he soon sold it to Noah Munroe, 
and left the town. Thus, this numerous and respectable family 
had all left the town previous to the revolutionary war, but the 
beautifnl lake on whose borders they settled will commemorate 
their name through all succeeding time. 

North, Capt. Thomas, was from Wethersfield in 1743. He 
was one of the first proprietors of the iron works in the Hollow. 
He lived on the twenty-sixth home lot, known as the Captain 
Patchen place, now pwned by Mr. Chase, He served as select- 
man for several years. He removed into the state of New York 
in 1753. 

Noyes, Calvin, was from Lyme, and was a direct descendant 
of the Rev. Mr. Noyes, the first minister of that town. He came 
to Sharon in 1792, and purchased a large and valuable real estate 
in the neighborhood of Benedict's mill, where he resided. He was 
distinguished for his public spirit, and for his many acts of pri- 
vate charity. He lived a bachelor, and for the last few years of 
his life was entirely blind. By his last will he gave the greater 



HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. 143 

part of his estate to the Congregational society in Sharon, the 
American Education Society, the Connecticut Missionary Society 
and the Connecticut Bible Society. Each of those societies has 
received nearly seventeen hundred dollars from his estate. He 
died at the residence of his brother, Deacon Moses Noyes, in 
Poultney, Vt., January 32, 1831, at the age of eighty. 

Noyes, Selden, was a younger brother of the preceding, and 
came with him from Lyme in 1793. He lived where Clark M. 
Juckett now lives. He was cut off in early life by consumption. 
He left sons, Milton, Selden and John. 

Epitaph. 

Sacred to the memoiy of Selden Noyes, 

who died July 5, 1804, aged thirty-four years. 

Though death's cold stroke the bond has broke. 
That joined the hand and heart, 
Yet should they stand at Christ's right hand. 
They never more can part. 

Orton, John, was from Litchfield, in 1764. He married a 
daughter of Deacon Joseph Landers, and settled on the place now 
owned by George R. Woodward, which originally belonged to 
John Davis. He left two sons, Joseph and Luther. 

Epitaph. 

In memory of John Orton, who died April i), 1785, 

in the forty-second year of his age. 

In prime of life he yields his breath. 
While weeping friends lament his death. 
But death must yield, his dust restore. 
Where friends shall meet but weep no more. 

Pardee, Lieut. John, the patriarch of the numerous family 
of Pardee, in Sharon, was from Norwalk, and was an original 
proprietor. He was a shoemaker and tanner by occupation, and 
settled near the stone bridge, north of the meetinghouse. He 
was a leading and prominent man in all the affairs of the town, 
and was a very large landholder. He was one of the first 
representatives of the town in the legislature, being elected such 
in October, 1755, when the the town was first represented in 



144 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. 

that body ; and he was chosen to that office at six sessions. 
He died July 13, 17G6, aged sixty-nine. He had six sons who 
settled in the town, and whose descendants are very numerous, 
viz, : Thomas, Jehiel, John, James, George and Moses. Thomas 
settled on the mountain, where Josiah Brown now lives, and 
he was the father of the late Capt. Samuel Pardee. He died 
August 1, 1806, at the age of eighty-four. Jehiel settled where 
Clark Pardee lived, and was grandfather to the last named 
gentleman. John settled in the Great Hollow, and he was the 
father of the late Isaac Pardee, Esq. James lived on the home 
lot, and built the brick hovise now known as the Pardee house. 
George and Moses lived just north of the stone bridge. Thomas 
and James were members of the Assembly several times, as was 
their nephew, the late Isaac Pardee, Esq. This last named 
gentleman died, very suddenly, on the 8th day of May, 1835, at 
the age of seventy-six. 

Park, Joseph, was from Middletown and was the first settler 
on the place owned by the heirs of the late Samuel Beecher. 
He sold his farm in 1746 to Nathaniel Richards, and removed 
to Salisbury. He had two sons. Smith and Daniel. Smith 
lived near George White's, until 1780, when he sold the place to 
Benjamin Conklin, and removed to New Canaan, N. Y., where 
he died. Daniel lived where Mr. E. Mallery now lives, until 1763, 
when he sold the place to John Pennoyer, and left the town. 

Parsons, Capt. Enoch, was from Newtown, in 1763. He was 
a carpenter by trade, and settled where his great grandson, Fred- 
erick L. Parsons, now lives. Being a man of more than a com- 
mon education for those days, he was appointed, for many years, 
to "line the psalm," agreeable to the ancient manner of singing 
in public worship. He served as selectman and constable for 
several years, and was a member of the Assembly in October, 
1795. He died October 1, 1829, aged eighty-nine. He left four 
sons, Stephen, Freeman, Enoch and Amideus. 

. Patchen, Abel, was from Welton, in 1782 He purchased of 
Zebulon Badcock the south half of the twenty-sixth home-lot, 
originally Deacon Skinner's, and kept a public house during his 
life. He was a representative to the Assembly in October, 1798, 
and May, 1799. He died April 9, 1805, at the age of fifty-three. 
He had one son Stephen, who emigrated to Vermont in early life. 
His three daughters, Mrs. Skilf , Mrs. Lowry and Mrs. Chase, all 
widows, are now deceased. 



HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHAUOX. Uo 

Peck, Dr. Abner, was a physician, and came to Sliaron in 
1751, from Salisbury. He purchased a place of Luke St. Jolm, a 
little south of Joel L. Whitfoxxl's. He was cut off by the small- 
pox October, 11, 1756, leaving a widow and two daughters. 

Pennoyer, John, came from Stamford m 1742. He purchased 
a part of the twenty-second home-lot, originally owned by Samuel 
Calkin, being the place where the late Gen. Augustine Taylor 
lived. He sold this place in 1749, to his son John, and removed 
to the state of New York, where the late Charles Wright lived, in 
the toAvn of North East. He returned to Sharon in 17G9, and 
purchased the place at the head of the street, now owned by 
Chesterfield King. He died December 11, 1785, at the age of 
seventy-eight. He had sons, Jonathan, John, Joseph and Jacob. 
Jonathan died in 1761. John built the brick house, known as the 
Taylor House, and also the one formerly owned by Dr. John W. 
Smith, in w-hich latter place he kept a tavern. In 1785 he 
removed to Hudson, N. Y. , where he died. Joseph settled in the 
town of North East, N. Y., and he was the father of the late 
Jonathan Pennoyer. Jacob, the youngest son, owned the place 
now owned by Geo. Skinner. He was killed on the 18th of May, 
1814, on the top of King Hill, so called, by the oversetting of his 
wagon, at the age of seventy-six. 

Petit, Jonathan, was from Stamford, at the earliest settle- 
ment of the town. He owned the thirty-second home lot, and 
he lived on the road which is now discontinued, leading north 
from Joel C. Whitford's. He vpas much employed in public 
affairs. He was constable nine years. He died in 1773, at an 
advanced age. 

Petit, Samuel, was a son of John Petit, of Stamford, and a 
nephew of the preceding. He lived in the north part of the town 
near Benedict's mill. He died on the 8th day of July, 1836, aged 
eighty-eight. He left one son, Gideon, who died without issue 
January 1, 1839, aged fifty-seven. 

Petit, Joel, was a brother of the preceding, and was for many 
years an inhabitant of Sharon. He lived to a very advanced age. 
His son, Joel T Petit, Esq., was a young gentleman of great 
promise, who was educated for the law, and settled in the town. 
After a short professional career he died of consumption, Septem- 
ber 13, 1807, aged thirty-two. 

Pratt, Jonathan, was originally from the old Plymouth col- 
ony, and came to Sharon in 1753. He first lived in the Hollow, 
near the outlet of Mudge Pond, and was a partner in the iron 
* 19 



146 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. 

works. In 1754 he removed to the south part of the town, and 
settled where Stephen Knibloe now lives. He died February 17, 
1781, aged sixty-one. 

Pratt, Capt. Abraham, was from Say brook, in 1783. He pur- 
chased of Moses Reed the place on which he lived, in the north 
part of the town, now owned by James Landon, and commenced 
business as a shoemaker. He acquired a handsome estate, and 
enjoyed a large share of the public confidence. He served as 
selectman for many years, and was otherwise much employed in 
the business of the town. He died much lamented, on the 2d of 
March, 1840, aged eighty-one. His only surviving child was the 
wife of Henry Reed, Esq., of Ohio. All his other childi-en were 
cut off by consumption in early life. 

Quitterfield, Abner, is supposed to have come from Norwalk, 
in 1752. He lived in the south part of the town, on the road 
leading from the school house to George R. Woodward's. He 
removed to Stillwater, N. Y., in 1768. 

Randall, John, was from Wareham, Mass., in 1753. His wife, 
who was the daughter of John Bates, was the first female and the 
second child born in the town. He lived on the farm now owned 
by William S. Marsh, a little south of Mr. Jewett's. He died of 
a cancer, May 19, 1807, at the age of eighty-two. 

Raymond, Daniel, came from Woodbury, in 1748. He lived 
on the place formerly occupied by Zenas Beebe, below Geoi-ge R. 
Woodward's. He sold out to Deacon Landers, in 1760, and left 
the town. 

Reed, Moses, was the first settler on the place lately owned by 
Capt. Abraham Pratt. He came to Sharon in 1743, and died 
November 17, 1786, at the age of ninety. He left one son, Moses 
Reed, Jr. 

Rexford, Arthur, was from Wallingford, in 1757. He lived 
in Ellsworth, a little south of Enoch P. Everett's. He had four 
sons, Arthur, Joseph, Daniel and Benjamin. 

Rice, Asa, was from Wallingford, now Meriden, in 1774. He 
lived in Ellsworth, where Enoch P. Everett now lives. He died 
in 1785, leaving sons, Asa, Seth, Isaac and Barnabas. 

Richards, Nathaniel, was from Norwich, in 1744, and settled 
on the lot lately owned by Samuel Beecher, now apart of Charles 
Benton's farm. He died in 1763, and the property passed into 
the hands of George White. There are none of his descendants 
now remaining in the town. 



HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. 147 

Richmond, Benjamin, was one of the first propi-ietors and 
settlers, and came to Sharon in 1742. He lived a short distance 
below Dwight St. John's, and died in 1766. He had one son Ed- 
ward, who removed to Spencertown, N. Y., in 1757. 

Roberts, Nathaniel, was froin Salisbury in 1759. He lived in 
Abel street, a little nortli of Stephen Tickner's. He died July 15, 
1766, at the age of fifty-five. He left sons, John, William, Leb- 
beus and Amos. 

Roberts, Samuel, Esq., was from Windsor, and came to 
Sharon, in 1784, as a hired man to George King. He had a suc- 
cessful career in the acquisition of property. He was the owner, 
at his death, of a large and valuable real estate. He was at one 
time a magistrate of the town, and twice its representative in the 
General Assembly. He left sons, Samuel, Hector and Virgil B. , 
the two last of whom are yet living. 

Rockwell, Dr. Samuel, was born in East Windsor, February 
18, 1759. While he was young his father removed to Colebrook, 
and was one of the first settlers of that township. In 1776 he 
was in the army, for which he drew a pension, after 1831. He 
entered Yale College in 1779, but soon left that institution 
and commenced the study of medicine, under the celebrated Dr. 
Lemuel Hopkins. He settled in Sharon in 1784, and, except 
about five years, when he lived in Salisbury, remained here till 
his death, which occurred on the 24th of June, 1836, at the age of 
seventy-seven. He represented the town in the legislature at the 
session in 1815. 

Rowlee, Jonathan, was from East Haddam, in 1741, and lived 
near Richard Woodward's. He staid in town but a short time. 
He removed to Kent, and lived a little north of the meeting- 
house. He died in 1772, leaving sons, Simeon, Jonathan, Levi, 
Judah and Issacher, several of whom settled in and near Sharon. 
Levi lived where Roswell H. Hazzard now lives. He died of can- 
cer, November 23, 1805, at the age of seventy-three. Simeon 
was the father of Mrs. Hamlin, widow of Deacon Benjamin 
Hamlin. 

St. John, Deacon, Matthew, was from Nor walk in 1745. He 
bought of Samuel Comstock the thirty-second home-lot, now 
owned by D. L. and J. B. Siuith. He was one of the deacons of 
the church, and was several years one of the selectmen of the 
town. He died August 3, 1755, at the age of 69. He had four 
sons, who bore the names of the four Evangelists, Matthew, 
Mark, Luke and John. Matthew removed to Sufiield. His only 



148 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. 

child was the mother of Joel Chaflfee. Mark lived where George 
Bissell formerly lived. Luke was a tailor by trade, and lived 
where Josiah Hull lived. These last two removed to Stockbridge, 
Mass. John lived a little south of Joel C. Whitford's. He died 
Dec. 30, 1784, at the age of sixty-two. 

St. John, Timothy, came from Norwalk, in 1756. He lived 
where C. M. Dean now lives. He died November 28, 1806, at the 
age of seventy-four. His only son, Daniel St. John, Esq., re- 
moved to Hartford, where he lived much respected to a very 
advanced age. 

St. John, Daniel, was a brother of the preceding, and came 
to Sharon in 1761. He lived where the late Ezekiel St. John 
lived. He was a blacksmith by occupation. He died in 1781, 
leaving sons, Thomas, Lewis, Uriah and Caleb. 

St. John, Silas, was also a brother of Timothy and Daniel St. 
John. He lived in Ellsworth near the place where his grandson, 
Henry St. John, now lives. He was the first deacon of the 
church in Ellsworth, and was for several years town treasurer. 
He died September 21, 1805, at the age of sixty-four. 

Sanford, Amos, was from Newtown, in 1768. He lived oppo- 
site Frederick L. Parson's present residence. He died December 
19, 1777, aged forty-four, leaving sons, David, Ezra, John, Samuel, 
Caleb, Salmon and Amos. 

Sears, Capt. Stephen, was originally from Barnstable, Mass. 
His parents settled at a place called Jo's Hill, in the town of South 
East, Putnam county, N. Y. He came to Sharon in 1760. He 
lived where his grandson, Benjamin Sears, lived. He was a car- 
penter and joiner by trade, and in that capacity superintended 
the erection of the meeting house built in 1768. He died of the 
yellow fever in New York, where he was at work at his trade, in 
1791. He was the father of Dr. John Sears. His widow died 
February 8, 1834, at the age of ninety-four. 

Shepherd, Dr. Asher, came from Hartford, in 1772, and was 
a partner with Dr. Simeon Smith, in the druggist business. He 
built the house known as the Gi'osvenor house, opposite Richard 
Smith's, in 1774. In 1778 he removed to Bennington, Vt. , and 
kept a druggist store successively at Bennington and Rutland, 
where he died in 1788. 



HISTORY OF THE TOWN OV SHARON. 149 

Skiff, Benjamin, was from the town of Cliilmark, on the 
island of Martha's Vinej^arcl, and came to Sharon in 1774. He 
lived in Ellsworth, where Giles Skiff now lives. He died Feb- 
ruary 20, 1811, at the age of seventy-four. He had sons, Walter, 
John, Seth and Benjamin. 

Skiff, Samuel, was a cousin of the preceding and came from 
the same place. He lived where Gibbs Skiff now lives. He died 
in 1835, leaving sons, Samuel, Arvin, Gibbs and Asa. 

Skinner, Nathaniel, Esq., was from Colchester, and was one 
of the first and principal proprietors of the township. He drew 
the twenty-sixth home lot, known as the Patchen place, where 
Mr. Chase now lives. He was ths first magistrate, first town 
clerk a,nd first deacon of the church. He remained in town 
until 1760, when he removed to Salisbury, and was an owner of 
the mill now known as Benedict's mill. He had sons, Nathaniel, 
Thomas, Joseph and Josiah. There are none of the family now 
residing in the town. 

Smith, Rev. Cotton Mather. Many allusions have been 
made, in the foregoing pages, to the labors and influence of 
Parson Smith, in laying the foundations of society and shaping 
the early institutions of the town, as well as in giving impor- 
tance to some portions of its history. It is thought that the 
following extract from an address, delivered by the Rev. Abel 
McEwing, of New London, at the centennial of the consocia- 
tion of Litchfield County, in 1853, will be acceptable to the 
reader, as pointing out facts of history and elements of character 
not before alluded to. It is unfortunate that the traditional 
error, that Parson Smith's mother was a daughter of Cotton 
Mather, had not been detected befoi-e the publication of Dr. 
McEwing's address. She was a daughter of Atherton Mather, a 
cousin of Cotton Mather. 

"The Rev. Cotton Mather Smith was, by the original Con- 
sociation of the County, ordained pastor of the church in Sharon, 
Aug. 23d, 1755. This office he held until his death Nov. 27th, 
1806. The name of Mr. Smith excites a curiosity, especially in a 
New Englander, to inquire after this minister's ancestry. Had 
he been only Mr. Smith he might have been born anywhere, 
or he might have descended from some man in almost any place, 
but when we read or hear the title or name, Rev. Cotton Mather 
Smith, our mind is carried back to the very early history of New 
England, and to some of the chief actors in its early scenes. 
The paternal ancestry of this pastor of Sharon we trace back to 



150 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHAEON. 

his great-great grandfather, the Rev. Henry Smith, who was a 
minister of the gospel in Wethersfield. He was a conspicuous 
actor in the memorable scene of 1639, when the inhabitants of 
Hartford, Windsor and Wethersfield constituted themselves the 
commonwealth called Connecticut. England, a paternal estate 
and an eligible position in society, he left that in this new land 
he might enjoy the rights of conscience. His will, published in 
the Colonial Records, informs us that he died in the year 1648. 
His great-grandson, Samuel Smith, Esq., of Suflfield, married 
Jerusha Mather, and who was she ? 

"The daughter of Rev. Cotton Mather, of Boston, grand- 
daughter of the Rev. Increase Mather, and great-grand daughter 
of the Rev. Richard Mather, of Dorchester, who fled from 
England for conscience sake. The Rev. John Cotton, the very 
distinguished minister of the gospel in Boston, was the father of 
the wife of Increase Mather, and thus the great grandfather of 
the lady who became Mrs. Smith, of Suffield. Her son, born 
October 16, 1741, she named Cotton Mather, and early did she 
destine him for the sacred profession of his ancestors. At Yale 
College, when he gradviated, 1751, he was distinguished for 
amiable temper, bodily activity, graceful manners, industry and 
elegant literature. His studies preparatory for the ministry were 
prosecuted under the instruction of the Rev. Mr. Woodbridge, of 
Hatfield, Mass. He became pastor of the church in Sharon fifteen 
years after the first settlement of that town, having for his 
predecessor in office Mr Searle. When Mr. Smith preached as a 
candidate in Sharon, a Mr. King, called Merchant King, was an 
admiring hearer, and with becoming enthusiasm co-operated with 
the people at large in compassing the settlement of the candidate. 
Soon after this, however, the merchant was occasionally caught 
drowsing under a sermon. 'How is this?' a neighbor enquired; 
' I thought you were an admirer of Mr. Smith.' ' Yes,' Mr. King 
replied ; ' I am. I attended to him until I saw that he was a 
workman ; since then I have given it up to him. ' 

" Soon after his settlement in Sharon, Mr. Smith connected 
himself in marriage with the second daughter of the Rev. William 
Worthington, of Saybrook. This lady gladdened the heart of 
her husband, made his household happy and respectable, and 
added much to the efficiency and popularity of his ministry. 
The children of the family were six, the youngest of whom, the 
only son who became an adult, was the Hon. John Cotton Smith, 
one of the governors of Connecticut. 



HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. l.jl 

" At the commencement of his pastoral labors, Mr. Smith 
found his charge a people divided in religious opinions, in habits 
to a great extent immoral, and scattered over a parish nine 
miles by seven in its dimensions. A field for usefulness this was 
for a young minister, who brouglit into it talents and influence 
which were appropriate. Bland and courteous in manners, 
sound in religious inculcations, uncompromising in moral habits 
and requii'ements, much in his study and often in the families of 
his people, he harmonized and reformed their faith and social 
habits, and gained such hold of their hearts that they retained 
his ministry, and gave deference to his counsels, to the close of 
his life. Somewhat acquainted with medicine, but more because 
he had the heart of the good Samaritan, he was sure to be with 
his parishioners when sick, and never by the sick was the 
presence of a minister more cordially welcomed. Religious 
counsels and prayers did not comprise all his ministrations on 
these occasions. A very distressing prevalence of the small pox 
at one season put all his benevolence, contrivance, activity, and 
fortitude in requisition. It was winter ; houses for the sick could 
not be obtained in the parish ; seven hundred persons were 
subject to the disease within the space of two months. For 
nineteen successive days and nights, the humble imitator of Him 
who went about ' healing all manner of sickness and all manner 
of disease among the people' put not off his clothes for rest. 
Here was something in addition to good preaching to make a 
minister popular among his own parishioners. 

"After he had been twenty years in the pastoral ofifice, 
that great event, the American Revolution, occurred. It found 
Mr. Smith in the maturity of his powers, wielding within his 
sphere, a great influence. He had dedicated himself to the 
Christian ministry, but this did not make him too sacred to give 
himself to his country. His brethren, the Congregational 
clergymen of New England, were, at large, distinguished 
patriots, in the struggle of their nation for independence and 
free government. None among them in the incipient move- 
ments of the Revolution, or in providing for the hardships and 
conflicts of the war, brought the people of their charges up to 
a higher tone of action than did the pastor of Sharon. His 
sermons, his prayers, the hymns which he gave to the choir were 
impulsive to patriotism. When news of a battle, such as that of 
Lexington ; or the news of a victory, such as Burgoyne's surrender, 
reached Mr. Smith, he electrified his congregation by an echo of 



152 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. 

the tidings from the pulpit. Anxiety for the issue of the war 
inflamed his bosom to such a heat that this domestic action did 
not satisfy him. Into the memorable campaign of 1775 he 
entered as chaplain to a regiment in the northern army. His 
influence in producing order and good morals in the camp, in 
consoling the sick and in inspiriting the army with firmness and 
intrepidity attracted the attention of Gen. Schuyler, the 
commander-in-chief, and secured from this worthy officer a 
respectful friendship for Mr. Smith for the residue of his life. 
Few men ever made more of domestic life than the subject of 
this sketch. As a husband and a father he sweetened his home, 
elevated his family ; as a father he may be said to have magni- 
fied his oflS.ce. Paul, an apostle to the Gentiles, sought the 
salvation of the Jews. Mr. Smith, a father in full to his own 
children, was also a father to the orphan children of his parish. 
Of no less than eighteen of those isolated young creatures had he 
the principal charge, and ten of them have often been sitting at 
his table at a time. The theology of Mr. Smith was that of the 
Calvinistic school. A polish of style and a sweetness of affection 
gave interest to his preaching, while fidelity to the conscience of 
his hearers gave it power. He was among the few pastors who 
lived to preach their half century sermon. He looked down 
upon a few of the survivors of the early years of his ministry 
upon the middle-aged and youth whom he had begotten in the 
gospel, and upon the mass whom he had indoctrinated from the 
Bible, and to the God of all, he said in the text chosen for the 
occasion — Now lettest thou thy servant depart in i^eace, for mine 
eyes have seen thy salvation. — Luke ii, 29-30. This sermon was 
preached one year before his death. In it he stated that in the 
course of his ministry he had preached more than four thousand 
public discourses, besides more than fifteen hundred at funerals 
and other special occasions. He preached for the last time on 
the first Sabbath of January, 1806. From this time he languished 
with a submissive spirit until a disease, which terminated his 
life Nov. 27th of the same year." 

Smith, Hon. John Cotton, the most eminent citizen of the 
town, was a son of Rev. Cotton Mather Smith, and was born 
February 13, A. D. 1765. He was graduated at Yale College in 
1783, admitted to the bar of Litchfield county in 1786. and mar- 
ried to Miss Margaret Evertson, of Amenia, N. Y., in October of 
the same year. Their only child, the late William M. Smith, Esq. , 
was born in August, 1787. Mr. Smith was soon introduced into 



HISTORY OF TUE TOWN OF SIXAKOX. 153 

the active duties of his profession in his native town, by reason of 
the pecuniary embarrassments of the community, in consequence 
of the Revolutionary war, and particularly from the extensive 
and embarrassed affairs of his uncle, Dr. Simeon Smith, who 
removed to Vermont, leaving the management of his extensive 
and complicated concerns in the hands of his young and inexper- 
ienced nephew. Through unwearied exertions he was able to 
extricate the affairs of his uncle from a nearly hopeless condition 
by the f viU payment of all just demands against him, and leaving 
him at last in the enjoyment of a handsome estate . It is but 
justice to his uncle to say, that he, having no children of his own, 
made ample compensation to his nephew, by the bequest in his 
will of a large and valuable estate. He was first elected to the 
legislature in 1793, and was very frequently a member, and twice 
speaker before 1800, when he was elected a member of Congress. 
There he remained six years, when the declining health of his 
father compelled his resignation. He was immediately elected to 
the legislature of the State, and represented the town without 
intermission till 1809, and held the place of speaker at each ses- 
sion. He was then elected to the Council, and in the October 
session of the same year, was appointed a Judge of the Supreme 
Court. In 1811 he was elected Lieutenant Governor, and in 1813 
Governor of his native state. In this office he was continued till 
1817, when the public voice demanded a change in the form of the 
government of the State, and the substitution of a written con- 
stitution for the less stable provisions of the Charter of King 
Charles the 2d. Governor Smith, not sympathizing with 
the majority on this question, retired to private life and lived, 
for nearly thirty yeai's, a private citizen of Sharon. In public 
life, he was never appointed to a position which he was not fully 
competent to fill. As a presiding officer in a deliberative assembly 
he had no peer, and although while he was a member of Congress, 
except for one short term, he was associated in principle and 
feeling with the minority, he was called upon to preside in com- 
mittee of the whole more frequently than any other member. 
The late Luther Holley, an eminent citizen of Salisbury, who had 
been a member of the Legislature when Governor Smith was 
speaker, once remarked that he had never seen a man who could 
take a paper from the table and lay it back again so handsomely 
as could John Cotton Smith. 
* 30 



154 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. 

In private life Governor Smith was a fine specimen of tiie 
polished christian gentleman. He devoted some of his time to 
reviewing the studies of his early life, and in the preparation of 
useful and entertaining articles for the more elevated literary 
periodicals. He was for several years President of the American 
Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, and of the Ameri- 
can Bible Society, which latter office he retained till his death, 
which occurred on the 7th day of December, A. D. 1845, when he 
had nearly reached the age of eighty -one years. 

His funeral was attended on the 9th, by a large and sympa- 
thizing audience, and a very appropriate discourse was delivered 
by the Rev. Grove L. Brownell, then Congregational pastor at 
Sharon, from I Sam., xxv., i. At the grave, the Rev. Mr. An- 
drews, then of Kent, uttered the following remarks, which found 
a response in every heart : 

' ' I return thanks, in behalf of the mourners for all the kind- 
ness you have shown to our departed friend during his sickness, 
and for the honors you have now paid to his memory. We all feel 
that a great man has fallen in Israel. Beyond the bosom of 
his family, in whose inmost affections his memory will be em- 
balmed ; beyond the circle of his townsmen, among whom most 
of his blameless and dignified life was passed ; beyond the border 
of his native State, which delighted to honor him, and which he 
faithfully served in many and most distinguished stations, even 
throughout our common country, whose counsels he helped 
to guide in times of darkness and peril ; and especially in the 
Church of God, to which he freely gave the light of his wisdom 
and the aid of his benefactions, will his death be mourned as a 
calamity. One of the noblest of the men of the former and bet- 
ter age has been taken from us, and ' we ne'er shall look upon 
his like again. ' But our joy and boast this day is, not that he 
was a statesman of enlarged insight ; not that he was a scholar of 
refined taste ; not that he was a gentleman in whose deportment 
dignity and courtesy were so remarkably blended, ' the observed 
of all observers;' but that he was a meek and humble disciple 
of Christ, rejoicing in the consolations, reverencing the 
ordinances and laboring for the advancement of the Christian 
Faith. And we ha.ve laid him in the grave in the hope of a 
blessed resurrection, assured that the spirit which now rests in 
peace, shall, at the coming of our King, be reunited to the body, 
then raised and glorified after the likeness of our Lord. Amen." 



HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. 155 

Smith, James, was from Bolton, and was one of the original 
proprietors. He drew the eighteenth home lot, which lay on 
both sides of the town street, and bounding south on the high- 
way leading by Dwight St. John's. Mr. Smith was the first 
person ever chosen constable in the town, and was elected to 
that office for three successive years. In 1747 he removed to 
the north part of North East, N. Y., where he lived to a great 
age. 

Smith, Theophilus, was a brother of the preceding, and 
first lived near where Dr. Deming now lives. In 1749 he bought 
of Mica Mudge the grist mill known as Gay's mill, which stood 
near Merrills McLean's present residence. He sold this in 1757, 
to Colonel Ebenezer Gay, and removed to the southeast part of 
the town, near where Lorin Emons lived. He was one of the 
owners of the grist- mill and saw-mill near his house. He died 
in 1799. He had two sons, Theophilus and Levi, who are both 
now deceased. * 

Smith, Samuel, was from the Great Nine Partners, N. Y., 
and came to Sharon in 1754. He was a blacksmith by tirade, 
and lived on the Burr place, in the valley. He was a selectman 
for several years. He sold his property in Sharon in 1766, to 
Joel Harvey, and returned to the state of New York. He lived 
in the large house which was lately standing on De La Vergne's 
Hill, and kept a tavern there for many years. 

Smith, Dr. Simeon, was a younger brother of the Rev. 
Cotton Mather Smith. He came to Sharon about 1756, and 
w^as a physician of extensive practice. He kept a large store of 
drugs and medicines, importing his articles direct from London. 
In 1776 he commanded a company of six months men, and was 
on service in the vicinity of New- York. He was a large land- 
holder and built the large stone house now known as the Gover- 
nor's House. He represented the town in the Legislature at 
several sessions. He went to West Haven, Vt., in 1787, and 
there resided till his death, in February, 1804. He left no 
children. He was a man of great activity and enterprise. 

Smith, Paul, was the youngest brother of Eev. Cotton M. 
Smith, and came to Sharon in 1770. He lived in the house 
originally built by Job Gibbs, next north of Jay S. Canfield's, 

• Another brother of this family, of the name of Azariah, settled in the 
town of North East, N. Y., near the present residence of Douglass Clark, 
Esq. He was the grandfather of Dr. John W. Smith, formerly living in 
Sharon. 



156 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. 

now demolislied. He was a constable of the town for a great 
number of years. He died March 38, 1825, at the age of ninety. 
Smith, Dr. Phineas, was a son of Dan Smith, an elder 
brother of Rev. Cotton M. Smith. He came to Sliaron when 
young, and resided with his uncle Dr Simeon Smith, by whom 
he was educated as a physician. He relinquished the practice 
and engaged in mercantile pui-suits. He built the house owned 
by the late Cyrus Swan, Esq. He died June 4, 1794, at the age 
of forty. 

Smith, ApoUos, was the younger brother of Phineas Smith, 
who came to Sharon in early life, and resided with his uncle. 
Dr. Smith, by whom he was assisted in establishing an exten- 
sive pottery before the revolutionary war, which proved a profit- 
able business. He built the brick house owned by Dwight 
St. John. He removed to West Haven, Vt., in 1802, where he 
died a few years after. 

Smith, Deacon Paul, Jr., was a son of Paul Smith, and was 
born in Suffield, in 1763. He came to Sharon with his father, 
and resided here until his death. He was elected a deacon of 
the church in 1793, and discharged the duties of that office 
with great fidelity and acceptance for forty-six years. He was 
a man of great sweetness of temper, modest and unobtrusive 
in his manners, and the principles of the holy religion which he 
professed were beautifully exhibited in his daily walk. He 
died without an enemy on the 30th day of September, 1838. He 
had sons, Seabury, Chauncey and Richard. Chauncey died in 
Missouri some years since. 

Smith, David, was from Litchfield, and came to Sharon in 
1801. He Uved on the Ousatonic river, where his son, the late 
Hon Horatio Smith, resided. He joined the Society of Friends in 
1781, and is supposed to be the only member of that society that 
ever resided in Shai'on. He died April 3d, 1826, at the age of 
seventy-three. He left sons, David, John, Horatio, Ransom and 
Gad— the latter was a clergyman of the Methodist Episcopal 
Church, of decided promise, who was cut off by consumption in 
early life. 

Spafford, Thomas, was an original proprietor, from Lebanon, 
and drew the thirteenth home lot, on which Samuel Beecher 
lived. Not being satisfied with his lot he availed himself of the 
privilege accorded to each proprietor of throwing it into the com- 
mon stock, and in lieu of it laid out a home lot about half a mile 



HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. l-")'*' 

west of the meeting house, formerly owned by Deacon Wilham 
M. Smith. He died in 1753. There are none of his descendants 
in the town. 

Spencer, Alexander, was one of the first settlers from East 
Haddam, and he lived opposite Dwight St. John's present resi- 
dence. In 1760 he removed to Oblong, N. Y., where he died the 
next year. He had but one son, Alexander Spencer, Jr., who 
was a volunteer in Arnold's expedition to Quebec, in 1775, 
through the wilderness of Kennebeck. He died on the march. 

Sprague, Capt. John, was from Lebanon, in 1739. He drew 
the thirty-seventh home lot, on which the Messrs. Prindle now 
live. He was a selectman for several years, and what is singular 

his 
he could not write his name. The words, " John+Sprague " are 

mark 
appended to many official documents on our records. He built 
the first frame house in the town. In 1748 he exchanged farms 
with Cornelius Knickerbacker, and removed to Furnace Village 
in Salisbury. He afterwards removed to Canaan, where he died 
in 1760. He had three sons, Jonathan, Ebenezer and John, the 
last of whom went to Canaan with his father. Jonathan settled 
where James Landon, Jr., lives, and lived to the advanced age of 
ninety-four. Ebenezer lived where Bird Reed lives. 

Sterling, Hon. Ansel, was born in Lyme, and settled in 
Sharon as a lawyer in 1808, where he spent his life. As a lawyer 
his forensic abihty was of a high order, nor was he deficient in 
legal science. His language flowed readily and rapidly, and 
sometimes his appeals to the jury were very effective. He held a 
seat in Congress for two terms. He died November 5th, 1853, at 
the age of seventy-three years, leaving a large estate to his 
numerous family. 

Stedman, Robert, was one of the first settlers and came to 

Sharon in 1743. He Uved on the road leading west from Anson 

Boland's, and the barn which he erected is still standing. In 1783 

he removed to Rupert, Vermont. 

Strong, Caleb, was from Colchester, in 1743. He first settled 

on the mountain near Calvin Jackson's, which place he sold to 

Thomas Day in 1755. He afterwards lived near Freeman W. 

Parsons.' He was a large landholder at different times, but he 

died poor. 



im HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. 

Epitaph. 

In memory of Mr. Caleb Strong, who died 

August 22, 1789, aged seventy-six. 

Our mortal breath 
Must yield to death. 

Strong, Josiah, was originally from Colchester, but lived 
awhile in Litchfield. He came to Sharon in 1747, and settled 
where Richard Woodward now lives. He died of the small-pox 
in 1761, leaving sons, Josiah, Elijah, Solomon, David and Joseph. 
He was a selectman of the town for several years. David was a 
lieutenant in the continental army. 

Strong, Josiah Jun., was a son of the preceding, and was 
born in Sharon, June 16, 1758. His life was eventful as illus- 
trating the dangers and sufferings of a revolutionary soldier, 
in the course of two years active service. He enlisted into Capt. 
Down's company in 1776, and marched to Canada. He was 
taken prisoner with the rest of the company, at the Cedars, on 
the 19th of May following. They were released by General 
Arnold, on his return from Quebec, and Mr. Strong returned 
to Sharon. He immediately enlisted into Captain Smith's com- 
pany, and joined the army under General Washington. He was 
in the battles of White Plains, Trenton, Princeton, Brandy wine 
and Germantown, in which last action he was so severely 
wounded in the leg as to render amputation necessary. He was, 
of course, compelled to leave the army, but he carried with him 
an honorable discharge from General Washington. He was 
placed upon the roll of invalid pensioners. He died lately at 
Geneva, N. Y. 

Studley, Joshua, was from Hanover, Mass., in 1771. He 
settled in the south part of Ellsworth. He died November 22, 
1810, at the age of sixty eight. He left two sons, Gideon and 
Tchabod. 

Swain, John, was from Branford, in 1745. He lived near the 
place where Rossi ter B. Hopkins now lives. He died in 1755, 
leaving sons, Daniel, James, Isaac and Jonathan. 

Swan, Cyrus, Esq., was born in Stonington, in 1770. He 
was in early life engaged in mercantile pursuits, in the District 
of Maine. He afterwards pursued the study of law, and estab- 
lished himself in the practice in this town in 1798. He was a 
successful practitioner, and acquired a respectable standing at 
the bar. He died August 20, 1835, aged sixty-five. 



HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. 1")9 

Swetlaud, Rowland, was the first settler on the place where 
Lyman Merwin lives. He sold his place in 1768, to Daniel Cur- 
tice, and removed to the Lyman place in the Great Hollow, 
where he died. 

Taylor, Gen. Augustine, was from New Millord in 1784. 
He purchased of Robert G. Livingston, who had come to Sharon 
during the revolutionary war, the place now called the Taylor 
place, where he resided until 1815, when he left the town. He 
rose to the rank of major general in the militia, and for awhile 
commanded the troops which were stationed for the defence of 
New London, during the late war with England. He died soon 
after he removed. 

Thurston, Amos, lived in the Great Hollow, near the school- 
house. He came to Sharon in 1768, and remained here until 
1785, when he sold his place to Ebenezer Dibble, and removed to 
Ballstown, N. Y. 

Tickner, William, was from Lebanon in 1739. He drew the 
thirty-eighth home-lot, next north of Mr. Sprague's, in Gay Street. 
He was a respectable man. He died in 1760, leaving sons, 
William, Jonathan and Daniel, who all left town soon after the 
death of their father, 

Tickner, John, was a brother of the preceding, and came 
from Lebanon in 1749. He settled in the Great Hollow, on land 
which his father had previously bought of Bezaleel Tyler. He 
died at the age of forty-nine. He left sons, John, Benajah, EUsha 
and David. Benajah was the father of Dr. Benajah Tickner of 
the U. S. navy, and of Dr. Luther Tickner, of Salisbury. 

Tobey, Elisha, was from the old Plymouth colony. He lived 
for many years where Stephen Kuibloe now lives. In 1793 he 
removed to Alford, Mass. He died in Salisbury, on his way to 
visit his friends in Sharon. He had sons, Jonathan, Barnabas, 
Heman, Sylvanus, Ephraim, EUsha and Benjamin. 

Tyler, Bezaleel, was from Branford, and was the first settler 
on the place now owned and occupied by Dr. Deming. He died 
August 29, 1760, at the age of seventy-seven. He left sons, 
Bezaleel, Benjamin, Amos, Charles, Gideon, Timothy and 
Nathaniel. 

Waldo, Cyprian, was from Windham in 1770. He purchased 
of Gideon HoUister, a part of the thirty-sixth home-lot, where 
Virgil B. Roberts now lives. He resided there till his death m 
1797. He left sons, Alfred, Bradford, David R. and Zaccheus. 



160 HISTORY OP THE TOWN OF SHARON. 

Warren, Lieut. James, lived on the place now owned and 
occupied by Edwin N. Hartwell. He had no children. He died 
May 14, 1788, aged seventy -six. 

Way, George, was from Lyme. He settled opposite the 
Deforest house in the Gay district, and lived tliere for a number 
of years. He was the first grand-juror in the town. He had 
one son, John, who lived on the hill west of Frederick L. Par- 
sons. ' 

White, George, was from Wareham, Mass., and was the first 
settler on the place owned by Chesterfield Chapman. He came to 
Sharon in 1747. He had three sons, John, George and Archelaus. 
John x-emoved to Alvord, Mass., where he died in 1775. He was 
the father of the late Solomon White, and grandfather of George 
White, now living. 

White, Israel, was from Danbury in 1775. He settled in the 
Great Hollow, where he purchased a large and valuable farm of 
David Wood. Mr. White died in 1820, at the age of eighty nine. 
He had sons, James, John, Sanford, Israel and Steplien, and his 
descendants yet remaining in the town are numerous. 

Wilson, Capt. John, came to Sharon after the revolutionary 
war, from Westchester County, N. Y. He finally settled in the 
southeast part of Sharon, on a farm formerly owned by Phinehas 
Benjamin, now by Daniel Hall, Esq. He enlisted into the army 
of the revolution early in the war, and served faithfully till peace 
was proclaimed. He was a man of intelligence, a Baptist by 
religious profession, and of much weight of character among his 
acquaintance. He died Jan 20, 1849, at the age of eighty-six 
years. 

Williams, Col. John, was originally a physician, and came to 
Sharon in 1743, from Lebanon. He was for many years a very 
distinguished inhabitant of the town. He lived nearly opposite 
Judge Sterling's, and the house which he occupied was standing 
sixty years since. He was elected town clerk in the fall of 1745, 
which office he held twenty-nine successive years, till his death. 
Previous to his appointment the records had been badly kept, 
and a good part of them are very unintelligible ; but from the time 
they passed into his hands they were kept with great accuracy. 
It would seem, that for nearly thirty years, he wrote almost eveiy 
deed which passed title to real estate in Sharon, judging from the 
fact that they were nearly all witnessed by him, and acknowl- 
edged before him, and it is interesting to observe with what 
remarkable accuracy and strict legal propriety they are all 



HISTORY OF THE TOWN OP SHARON. 161 

expressed. He held the office of selectman seventeen years, and 
was chosen member of the Assembly at twenty-seven different 
sessions, being the first ever chosen to that office in the town. 
"When the county of Litchfield was organized in 1751, he was 
appointed one of the judges of the county court, and in about 
five years afterwards was made chief judge. He was also the 
first judge of probate for the district of Sharon, which was 
established in 1755, which office he held while he lived. He also 
went through several military grades, and for several years 
commanded a regiment of colonial militia. He was a man of 
tall and slender frame, but of great gravity and very dignified 
deportment, and his word was law. He was a deacon in the 
church from June, 1766, till his death. He died on Sunday, 
March 14, 1774, at the age of sixty -eight, and as it was in the 
exciting times which immediately preceded the revolution, and 
he had been a military character, he was buried with mihtary 
honors. His sword was borne upon his coffin, and vollies of 
musketry were fired over his grave. The funeral services were 
performed under the direction of Capt. David Downs. He left a 
number of children, but none remain among us. The late John 
A. ElUott was his grandson. 

Wood, Abel, was from Wareham, Mass., in 1748. He set- 
tled in the valley, on the lot now owned by Chauncey More- 
house, which he purchased of John Gray. He died January 20, 
1798, at the age of eighty-six. He had three sons, Ephraim, 
Ehjah, and Barnabas^ the two latter of whom lived to a very 
advanced age. Elijah Wood was a grandson of Abel Wood. 

Wood, David, was from Ridgefield, and was the first settler 
upon what is called the White place, in the Great Hollow. He 
came to Sharon in 1754, and in 1777, sold his place to Israel 
White, of Danbury, and removed to Ballstown, N. Y. He had 
sons, David, Stephen, Caleb and Benjamin. David was taken 
prisoner at Fort Washington, in 1776, and died in the prison 
ship at New York. Caleb died in Sharon. Stephen and Benja- 
min removed to Ballstown with their father. 

Woodruff, Elias, was from Southampton, Long Island, in 
1768. He purchased a part of the ninth home-lot of Amos 
Tyler, and lived on it till his death, June 17, 1807, at the age 
of seventy. His house stood a little north of Dr. Deming's 
present residence. He left sons, Daniel, James Ithamir, Salmon 
and Evart, of whom Daniel is the only one remaining in town. 
* 31 



lbs HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. 

Woodward, Deacon Abel, came from Watertown to Sharon 
in 1798. He was a citizen of Ellsworth, and maintained a highly 
reputable standing in that community during his protracted life. 
He died March 5, 1849, aged nearly seventy-eight years. He had 
sons, David W., Abel C, and George R., the two latter of whom 
still survive. 




APPENDIXES. 



APPENDIX A. 



FORM OF DEEDS GIVEN BY THE GOVERNMENT S COMMITTEE TO 
THE PURCHASERS OF RIGHTS TO THE COMMON LAND IN SHARON. 



"Whereas, by an act of the General Assembly, held at New- 
Haven, October 13th, 1737, entitled — ' An act foi- the ordering 
and directing the sale and settlement of all the townships in the 
Western Lands,' among other things it is enacted that the 
southwest townships in said lands, on the west side of the 
Ousatonic River, shall be vendued and sold at the Court House, 
in New Haven, to the highest bidder (being inhabitants of the 
Colony) on the third Wednesday of October next, at one of the 
clock afternoon, and continue by adjournment till the whole be 
sold by Samuel Ells, Esq., Joseph Whiting and Capt. Isaac 
Dickerman. They or any two of them to be a committee in 
the name of the Governor and Company to sell the Rights, take 
Bonds, and give deeds with Defeasance, &c. Therefore know 
ye that we, the said Samuel Ells, Joseph Whiting and Isaac 
Dickerman, by virtue of the Power and Authority to be granted 
in said act, for and in consideration of the sum of three hundred 
and sixty-one pounds, to be in hand paid before the ensealing 
hereof, by Jonathan Peck of WaUingford, in the County of New 
Haven, and Colony of Connecticut, the receipt whereof we do 
hereby acknowledge, and thereupon in the name of the Govern- 
ment and Company of said Colony, do Give, Grant, Bargain, 



166 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. 

Sell, confirm, convey and Confirm unto the said Jona Peck, his 
Heirs and Assignees forever, One Right, Share or Allotment in 
the Township aforesaid, the same being divided into fifty-three 
Equal Shares or Allotments, (exclusive of the Land granted to the 
College, and all former Grants of the General Assembly that are 
surveyed and recorded in the public Records of the Colony, and are 
lying in said Township) with the priveledges and appurtenances 
thereof or thereunto anywise belonging. To Have and to 
Hold the said granted Premises with all and Singular the 
Appurtenances thereof, unto the said Jona Peck, His Heirs and 
Assigns in manner and form following, that is to say that at and 
until the ensealing hereof. We by virtue of the power and 
authority to us granted as above have good Right to sell and 
dispose of the said granted premises, in manner aforesaid, and 
that the same is and shall be a good and indefeasible Estate of 
Inheritance in Fee Simple and is free from all Incumbrances 
whatsoever, always provided, and these Presents are upon this 
condition, that if the said Jona Peck shall by Himself or his agent 
within the space of the full year next after the date hereof, 
enter upon the said granted premises, build and finish a House 
thereon, not less than Eighteen feet Square and Seven feet stud, 
Subdue, clear and fence six acres of said land, and continue 
thereon for the space of three successive years, commencing 
after the two years aforesaid (unless prevented by death or 
inevitable Providence), and do and perform all Duties and 
Orders, pay all Taxes that shall be granted. Then the aforesaid 
Deed shall remain in full force and virtue, but in default or 
neglect of all or either of the said articles the same shall be void 
and of none effect. In witness whereof we have hereunto set 
our hands and seals, this 18th day of January, Anno Domini 
1738. 



Signed, Sealed and Dd. In presence of 



John Prout, ) Samuel Ells, l. s. 

VConn. ss New Haven. Jos. Whiting, l. s. 
JosiAH Robinson, ) Isaac Dickerm an, l.s. 



Then personally appeared Messrs. Sam'i Ells, Joseph Whiting, 
Isaac Dickerman, the ensealers of the above Instrument, and ac- 
knowledged the same to be their free and voluntary act and 
Deed before me, John Prout, Justice Peace. " 



APPENDIX B. 



PATENT OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. 



"The Governour and Company of the English Colony of Con- 
neecticut, in New England, in America : To all to ivhom these 
presents shall come. 

"Greeting: — Whereas, The said Governour and Company 
in General court assembled, at Hartford, on the 11th day of May, 
A. D. 1732, did order that a township should be laid out in the 
Southwest parts of the country lands, on the west side of the 
Ousatonic River, and appointed Messrs. Edniond Lewis, Stephen 
Noble and William Gaylord a committee to lay out the same. 

' 'And, Whereas, In pursuance of said order, the said commit- 
tee laid out the same, and bounded it as follows, viz. : Beginning 
at the Southwest corner of the township of M., it being a stake 
set in the ground and many stones laid to it, standing on the east 
side of a pond ; from thence the line runs south 12 degrees 30 
minutes west, with the line of partition between the Province of 
New York and the Colony of Connecticut, nine miles to a heap of 
stones laid on a rock, being in the aforesaid line of partition 
between the province of New York and the Colony of Connecti- 
cut, and is about two miles east of Captain Sackett's dwelling 
house, which is the southwest corner bound of said township ; 
and from thence the south line runs E. 10 ® 30s. four miles and 



168 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. 

one-half and one hundred and fifteen rods, to the Ousatonic 
Rivrer, where they marked a white ash tree and laid many stones 
to it, for the southeast corner bounds of said township, and 
marked many trees and made many monuments in the said south 
line, which township in their survey is called the township of N. 
S., and is bounded north on the township of M., south on 
country lands, west on the aforesaid line of partition between the 
Province of New York and colony of Connecticut, and east 
on the Ousatonic River, as by the return of said committee bear- 
ing date October 7th, A. D. 1733, entered on the records of said 
colony Liber. 4th for patents. Deeds and survey of land, folio 
472-3, in the Secretary's ofiice, reference thereto being had more 
fully and at large may appear. 

"And, Whereas, The said Governour and Company in Gen- 
eral Court assembled, at Hartford, on the 10th day of May, A. D. 
1733, did enact that said township, among the townships then 
lately laid out, should be disposed of and settled according to such 
time and regulations as the said assembly should order. And 
Whereas, The said Governour and Company in General Court 
assembled, at New Haven, A. D. 1737, by their act did order that 
township should be divided into fifty-three rights, one of which 
should be for the use of the ministry that should be settled in said 
town, according to the regulation in said act provided, one for the 
first gospel minister settled as aforesaid, and one other right for the 
support of the school in said town, and ordered that fifty of said 
rights should be sold, and that the other three rights should be 
for the uses aforesaid ; and that the committee by said act ap- 
pointed should sell, and, in the name of the Governour and Com- 
pany aforesaid, execute deeds of conveyance of the said several 
rights to the purchasers thereof respectively, with conditions to 
such deed annexed according to the directions in the said act con- 
tained. And, Whereas, The said committee, in pursuance of and 
according to said act, have sold, and by their several deeds under 
their hands and seals, have granted unto Samuel Hutchinson, 
Nathaniel Skinner, John Sprague, John Pardee, and to the rest of 
the original purchasers of rights in said township, fifty rights or 
fifty-third parts of said township, upon condition as aforesaid, 
which township is now called and known by the name of Sharon. 
And, Whereas, Mr. Peter Pratt is settled in the ministry in said 
town, according to the directions aforesaid, their heirs or assigns 
having performed the conditions in the said deed expressed, and 
now moving for a more full confirmation of the said lands sold 
and granted them as aforesaid. 



HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. 101» 

" Now know ye, that the said Governour and Company, by 
virtue of the powers granted and derived to them by His late 
majesty, King Charles the Second, of blessed memory, in and by 
his Letters Patent, under the great seal of England, bearing date 
the three and twentieth day of April, in the fourteenth year of 
his reign, and in presence of the several acts and orders of assem 
bly before in these acts referred to, have therefore given, granted 
and confirmed, and by these presents do fully, freely and abso- 
lutely give, grant, ratify and confirm for themselves and 
their successors unto, to the said Samuel Hutchinson, Nathaniel 
Skinner, John Sprague, John Pardee, and to the rest of the origi- 
nal purchasers aforesaid, and to their heirs and assigns and such 
as legally represent or hold under them, in proportion to their 
respective purchases, and in such proportion as their assignees 
and legal representatives do hold under them as aforesaid, the 
said fifty rights or fifty third parts, and to the said Peter 
Pratt, the said settled minister, the said one right or fifty-third 
part of all the lands in the township of Sharon aforesaid, and the 
said two rights ordered for the use of the ministry and school in 
said town, which two rights are hereby granted and confirmed unto 
the said purchasers and the said Peter Pratt, their heirs and assigns 
to and for the use aforesaid, and all and singular the lands, trees, 
woods, underwoods, ponds, rivers, fishings, fowlings, huntings, 
mines, minerals and pi"ecious stones within the said township, 
and all the rights, royalties, powers, privileges, profits and serv- 
ices to the premises belonging. To have and to hold the said 
granted, or hereby intended to be granted, premises together with 
the privileges and appurtenances thereof, unto the said Samuel 
Hutchinson, Nathaniel Skinner, John Sprague, John Pardee and 
Peter Pratt, and to the rest of the said purchasers, and to their 
heirs and assigns and such as legally represent and hold under 
them in manner as aforesaid, and to their only use, benefit and 
behoof as aforesaid forever, as a good, sure, and indefeasible es- 
tate in fee simple to be holden of our sovereign Lord the King, 
his heirs and successors as of his majesty's manor of East Green- 
wich, in the County of Kent and Kingdom of England, in fee 
and common socage, and not in capite nor by Knights Service, 
yielding and paying therefor to his majesty King George the 
Second, his heirs and successors, only the fifth part of all the ore 
of gold and silver that shall be there gotten or obtained, in lieu of 
all other services, duties and demands. 
* 22 



170 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. 

' ' In witness whereof the said Governour and Company have 
caused these presents to be signed by the Governour and Secre- 
tary, and the public seal of the said Colony to be affixed. Dated 
in Hartford, the 26th day of May, Anno Domini, 1747. 

J. LAW, Governor. 

"By order of the Governour and Company of the Colony of 
Connecticut in General Court assembled, May, Anno Domini, 
1747. "GEORGE WYLLYS, Secretary. 

"Received May 30th, 1747, and here recorded. 

"Test— GEORGE WYLLYS, Secretary." 




APPENDIX C. 



The Rev. Dr. Trumbull, the historian of Connecticut, before 
entering upon his great work of publishing a history of the 
State, issued a circular, asking for information on matters 
pertaining to his undertaking, which was extensively circulated 
through the State. The following is the reply of Parson 
Smith : 

"Sharon, April 24, 1800. 
"Rev'd Sr.— 

" I noticed in the Connecticut Courant, printed by Hudson 
and Goodwin, a No. of historical queries which you requested 
might be answered. In compliance with your request have sent 
you the following answers : 

"Q. 1 When did the settlement of the town commence ? 
Who and whence were the first principal settlers ? 

" A. The town of Sharon began its settlement in the spring 
of 1739. Between 14 and 20 families from Colchester and Leba- 
non began the settlement. The next spring after a larger No. 
from the county of New Haven. 

"Q. 2. When was the first church gathered, &c. ? 

" In answer to this query I must inform you, that when I 
was introduced into the Ministry in this place I found no Chh. 
Record : however, I took pains to collect the No. of Chh. members, 
and found them to be about 45 ; whereof 25 were male members. 



172 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. 

Mr. Pratt was ordained the first minister soon after the settle- 
ment of the town — and continued in the ministry for 4 or 5 years 
and then was dismissed for intemperance and silenced — since 
dead. 

"Mr. Searl was ordained a few years after, and continued in 
the ministry for 4 or 5 years, and was dismissed on account of his 
ill state of health — since dead. 

"I was ordained on the 28th August 1755. 

"Q. 4. How many parishes, &c. ? 

"Answer. One at present ; though a committee has been 
appointed by the Gen'I Assembly to set off another parish ; and 
have reported in favour of it — and the matter is to be laid before 
the Assembly in May session for a confirmation. 

" Q. 5. When did the worship of God according to the mode 
of the Chh. of England, &c. ? 

"A. When I came to this place, there were 15 families that 
belonged to that Com'n. They erected a decent Chh. to meet in. 
Mr. Da vies was their first minister. He soon died, and was suc- 
ceeded by Mr. Palmer — since dead. 

' ' In the time of the late revolutionary war the Chh. house 
fell, and never was rebuilt. The members dispersed, so that now 
there is but two or three families that belong to that Com'n re- 
maining amongst us, and they have no meeting for public 
worship. 

' ' Mr. Davies and Mr. Palmer both received orders from 
England, and had the Charge of New Milford, Litchfield, 
Sharon, &c. 

"Q. 6. What public libraries, &c. ? 

"A, A small library was procured in the time of the late 
war, which consisted of about 60 vols, but the books but few of 
them were valuable. It is now in contemplation to procure a 
large and useful library ; but the business is not as yet completed. 

"Q. 7. Wt. schools, «&c. ? 

' ' We have at present in the town twelve schools. We have 
an Academy that has been in good repute ; but of late we have 
failed in having good instructors, which has proved very injur- 
ious ; so y. now it is become no more than a common school. 



HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. 173 

"Q. 8. What No. of Printers, &c. ? 

"A. We have one Printer and one press introduced this 
spring in April. About 500 papers are printed weekly— the title 
of the Paper, Rural Gazette, printed by Elliot Hopkins— the size 
of the paper between Hartford and Litchfield. 

"Q. 10. What Iron Works, &c. ? 

"A. We have at present but one Iron-works, and but little 
business done in it. We have had as many as 5 forges ; but all 
gone to decay except one. 

"Q. 13. When was the separate, &c. ? 

' A. We have no separate Chh. We have a few baptists. 
They were formed into a church a few years past ; but now they 
have no preacher among them, their members decrease ; and 
meet but rarely among themselves for public worship — they attend 
divine service among the standing churches in general. 

"P. S. lam mistaken as to Mr. Davies and Mr. Palmer. 
Mr. Palmer was the first minister, and Mr. Davies was his suc- 
cessor. 

" Previous to the settlement already mentioned, there were 
between two and three hundred Indians that resided in the North- 
west part of the town in two villages : the one by the side of a 
large pond, now known by the name of the Indian Pond, which 
consisted of about twenty -five wigwaiTis ; the other village was 
situated in a large meadow at the south end of a large pond, now 
known by the name of Mudge Pond, containing about ten or fifteen 
huts or wigwams. These Indians were under direction of five chiefs 
called Mughoca. They had an Idol which they worshipped [as] 
God, and committed to the care of an old Squaw. This Idol, though 
inferior to the great God that governed the world, was neverthe- 
less invested with power sufficient to repel those evils brought 
upon 'em by Mutonto, or the Devil : and in case he refused or 
neglected to afford them his assistance, they would severely 
chastise him. 

"Their diversions on horseback ; their ceremonies when 
they bury their dead ; and their customs about marrying are not 
so materially different from those of other natives of this country 
as merit particular attention. 

' ' These Indians were of a superior size, and probably part of 
the Stockbridge tribe. 



174 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. 

"About 30 years past, there was a water-mill erected by Mr. 
Joel Harvey for thrashing and cleaning wheat. One man could 
thrash and clean about 40 bushels a day. This mill and barn ad' 
joining were consumed by fire, and never as yet repaired ; but 
the proprietor has of late determined to rebuild them. 

" Wishing the divine blessing in your future attempt to com- 
plete the history of Connecticut, I subscribe, vsdth much esteem, 
your friend and brother, COTTON M. SMITH. 

" [Superscribed,] Rev'd Benjamin Trumbull, D. D. 

"North Haven." 




APPENDIX D. 



The following is a copy of the deed by which the Indians 
conveyed away their last claim of title to lands in Sharon : 

' ' To all People to wliom these presents shall come — greeting : 

"Know ye that We, Nequitimaug, alias Moses, andBartholo- 
mous, alias Bartholomew, Indian Inhabitants of the Town of 
Sharon, in Litchfield County, in the Colony of Connecticut, in 
New England, for the consideration of fifty Pounds, current 
money of the Province of New York, received to our full satisfac- 
tion of Thomas Barns, of Sharon, aforesaid, do give, grant, bar- 
gain, sell and confirm unto the said Thomas Barns, his Heirs and 
assigns, a Certain tract or Parcel of land lying and being in the 
township of Sharon aforesaid, and containing by estimation fifty 
acres, be the same more or less, abutting South upon the land said 
Thomas Barns bought of Joseph Skinner ; North upon Salisbury 
line ; West upon the Pond called the Indian Pond, and extending 
East so far as to take in all Our improvements in said Township 
of Sharon, it being the whole of what Land We claim in said 
Township. To Have and To Hold the above Granted and Bargain- 
ed premises with the appurtenances thereof, unto Him, the said 
Thomas Barns his Heirs and Assigns forever, to his and their own 
proper use and behoof ; and also, We, the said Moses and Bar- 
tholomew, do for ourselves and our heirs covenant with the said 
Thomas Barns his Heirs and Assigns, that at and until the enseal- 
ing of these presents. We are well seized of these premises as a 
good indefeasible estate in Fee Simple, and have good Right to 



176 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. 

Bargain and sell in same manner and form as is above written, 
and that the same is free from all incumbrances whatsoever, and 
Furthermore, We, the said Moses and Bartholomew, by these 
presents bind ourselves and our heirs forever, to warrant and 
defend the above Granted and Bargained Premises to Him, the 
said Thomas Barns His Heirs and Assigns, against all Claim and 
Demand of any Person or Persons Whatsoever. In Witness 
whereof We hereunto set our hands and seals the 24th Day of 
July, 1752, in the 26th year of his Majesty's Reign. Signed, 
Sealed and Dd. In pi-esence of 

John Hamilton. 

John Williams. his alias 

Moses X Nequitimaug, 
mark. 

his alias 

Bartholomus Bartholomew." 
mark, 

" LlTCHFiELb County, ss.— Sharon, July 24th, 1752, then 
personally appeared the Indians called Moses and Bartholomew, 
the ensealers of the within written instrument, and acknowledged 
the same to be their voluntary act and deed. 

Coram, John Williams, Juss. Pace. 

" Ree'd July 24th, 1752, and entered. 

S. John Williams, Register." 



APPENDIX E. 



The following list of names of soldiers of the Revolution 
belonging to Sharon, who served in 1775, were taken from the 
Controller's Books, in Hartford : 



Reuben Cartwright, 
David Manning, 
Reuben Calkin, Sergt. 
Jehiel Jackson, 
Jude Bill, 
Zenas Goodrich, 
John Hollister, 
Isaac Chamberlain,-- 
Solomon Goodrich, 
Southard Swetland, 



Aaron Swetland, 

Sylvanus Gibbs, 

Wm. Goodrich, Corporal, 

Ebe Everett, 

John Tickner, 

Jesse Calkin, 

Asa Rogers, 

David Ackley, 

Elisha Calkin, 

Thomas Heath. 



23 



APPENDIX F. 



Something has been said in our narrative of the events of the 
Revolutionary war of the services and sufferings of Adonijah 
Maxam in that great conflict of arms. The following, copied 
from the proceedings of the Court of Probate for the District of 
Sharon, gives his own statement of the particular events of his 
military career : 

" State of Connecticut, County of Litchfield, ss, — Probate District 
of Sharon. 

" At a Court of Probate, hoi den at Salisbury, within and for 
the District of Sharon, on the 30th day of July, A. D. 1832. 
Present SAMUEL CHURCH, Esq., Judge. 

" On this 30th day of July, A. D. 1832, Personally appeared 
in open Court, before the Court of Probate for the District of 
Sharon, the same being a Court of Record now sitting, Adonijah 
Maxam, a resident of the town of Sharon, in the County of Litch- 
field and State of Connecticut and Probate District of Sharon, 
aged seventy-eight years ; who being first duly sworn according 
to law, doth, on his oath, make the following declaration, in order 
to obtain the benefit of the Act of Congress passed June 7th, 1832 : 
' That he was born in the said town of Sharon, in the year 1754. 
I have no record of my age, except what appears in my Bible 
and what may be on the Record of the said town of Sharon. I 
resided in the said town of Sharon, when called into the service 



HISTOUY OF THE TOWN OP SHARON. 179 

of the United States, and have, ever since the close of the Revo- 
kitionary war, resided in the said town of Sharon. I entered the 
service of the United States under the following named officers, 
and served as hereinafter stated : On the 8th day of May, as I 
think, and in the year 1775, I entered the 3d Company of the 4th 
Regiment, and served by order of the General Assembly of Con- 
necticut, under Major Samuel Elmore, of said Sharon. There 
were two Lieutenants belonging to the company, viz. : Amos 
Chappel, of said Sharon, and Parmalee, of Bethlehem. The 
Ensign was Shephard. The Colonel of the regiment to which I 
was attached, was Colonel Hinman of Woodbury, in said County. 
"We marched in the said month of May to Lake George, 
from thence to Ticonderoga, and from thence to Crown Point, in 
the State of New York. A part of our Regiment lay at Ticonder- 
oga, but our company was stationed at Crown Point. We 
remained at Crown Point, keeping guard and other duties, about 
three month ; from thence I was inarched with the quarter part 
of our Regiment to Isle au Noix, in Lake Champlain. General 
Montgomery was there, and General McDougal, and Capt. 
McCracken, and Maj. Brown were with us at Isle au Noix. We 
staid at this place but few days, when we went with General or 
Col. McDougal, Major Elmore and other officers, in order to go 
around St. Johns, but we failed, and returned to Isle au Noix. A 
few days afterwards Capt. Watson, of Canaan, Capt. McCracken, 
of the New York troops, and Major Brown, went with a large 
party of men, of whom I was one, for the purpose of penetrating 
through the woods, to Chambly, in Canada. W^e lay at Chambly 
a few days, and then I went to keep guard below Chambly. Col. 
Ethan Allen came to us there. We crossed the St. Lawrence 
river in the night, with Colonel Allen, a little below Montreal, 
and while preparing breakfast, the British force came upon us. 
We retreated, and finally I was, with Colonel Ethan Allen and 
others, taken prisoner by the enemy. We were put on board a 
sloop in the river St. Lawrence, and put in irons two by t%vo ; we 
were sent to Quebec, and kept in a prison ship till the last of 
November, 1775 ; from thence we were carried to Falmouth, in 
England, staid there fifteen days ; from thence we were sent to 
Cork, in Ireland, staid there about two weeks. Here Col. Allen 
was put aboard of a different ship from me. We next made land 
in Lisbon, in Portugal. During this voyage the prisoners were 
relieved from irons, and performed duty on ship board. From 
thence we made land next on the coast of North Carolina ; thence 



180 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. 

we were sent to Halifax, in Nova Scotia, where we were kept 
during the Summer of 1776. In the fall we were sent to the 
City of New York. We lay in the harbor of New York when 
Fort Washington was taken ; we heard the firing distinctly. We 
were afterwards confined in the French Church in New York 
City. From thence two of us, that is, myself and Roger Moore, 
of Salisbury, made our escape to Long Island, and from thence 
made our way to Saybrook, in Connecticut, and from there home 
to Sharon in the month of December. 1776, having been absent 
from home eighteen months. After this I was out at several 
alarms ; but I enlisted in the New York troops for nine months 
in the month of May, 1778. I was then residing in said Sharon. 
Our Lieutenant Colonel's name was Wisonf eldt, a Dutchman. His 
son was Lieutenant of the Company to which I belonged. The 
Major's name was Fish, the Colonel's name was Van Cortlandt, 
and in the Brigade of General Poor. I enlisted in Rhinebeck, in 
the State of New York, and soon after I joined the army at "Val- 
ley Forge. We staid at Valley Forge until the British forces 
evacuated Philadelphia. We pursued them ; Gen'l Washington, 
Fayette, Steuben, Lee and others were with the army. I was 
engaged soon after in the battle at Monmouth. From thence the 
army, and I with them, marched to White Plains, in the State of 
New York. Our Regiment then marched up and crossed the 
North River at Poughkeepsie, and went through New Paltz, to a 
place called then Mumbaccor, and there we were stationed thro' 
the Winter, until the expiration of my term of enlistment, and 
was then discharged, but had no written discharge, nor have I 
any written document by which I can prove this service, nor do 
I know of any person now living, whose testimony I can procure, 
who can certify to this service. 

' ' I am well known in the town of Sharon, aforesaid, to Hon. 
John Cotton Smith, Hon. Ansel Sterling, Hon. Chas. F. Sedg- 
wick, Cyrus Swan, Esq. , and many others who can testify as to 
my character for veracity, and their belief of my services as a 
soldier in the Revolution. And I hereby relinquish every claim 
whatever to a pension or annuity, except the present, and declare 
that my name is not on the pension roll of the Agency of any 
State.' 

" Sworn to and subscribed the day and year aforesaid. 

ADONIJAH MAXAM. 



history of the town of sharon. 181 

Pension Office, 

April 17, 1857. 
' ' I certify that the foregoing paper is a correct copy from 
the original, on file in this office. 

J. E. HEATH, Commissioner." 




APPENDIX G. 



The following are the graduates of colleges who have been 
citizens of Sharon : 







YALE COTJ^KGE. 






NAME. 


WHEN 


NAME. 


WHEN 




GRADUATED. 


GRADUATED. 




Peter Pratt, 


1736 


Milo L. Bennett, 


1811 




John Searle, 


1745 


William E. Gould, 


1811 




Jonathan Elmer, 


1747 


Milo L. North, 


1813 




Daniel Griswold, 


1747 


Ebenezer Blackman, 


1817 




Cotton Mather Smith, 


1751 


William Rockwell, 


1822 




Jeremiah Day, 


1756 


Milton P. Orton, 


1824 




Thomas Davies, 


1758 


Richai-d Smith, 


1825 




Fisher Gay, 


1759 


John M. S. Perry, 


1827 




John Canfield, 


1762 


John Cotton Smith, 


1830 




Augustine Taylor, 


1776 


Milo N. Miles, 


1831 




Judson Canfield, 


1782 


Robert D. Gardner, 


1833 




John Cotton Smith, 


1783 


David C. Perry, 


1833 




Daniel Parker, 


1798 


Dan'l D. T. McLaughlin, 1834 




Alanson Hamlin, 


1799 


John T. Andrew, 


1839 




William A. Taylor, 


1803 


George T. Pierce, 


1843 




William M. Smith, 


1805 


Henry Roberts, 


1866 


1 


Henry J. Canfield, 


1806 







HISTORY OF THE TOWN OP SHARON. 
WILLIAMS COLLEGE. 



183 



NAME. 


WHEN 


NAME. WHEN 




GRADUATED. 


GRADUATED. 


Vinton Gould, 


1797 


Charles F. Sedgwick, 1813 


David L. Perry, 


1798 


Chauncey G. Smith, 1814 


David Beecher, 


1804 


Judah Ely, 1820 


Cyrus W. Gray, 


1809 


John Cotton Territt, 1833 


Orange Lyman, 


1809 


William R. Territt. 1871 



UNION COLLEGE. 
Alexander B. Bullions, 1842 

UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF VERMONT. 
Grove L. Brownell, 1813 

HARVARD COLLEGE. 
John Williams, 1725 

MIDDLEBURY COLLEGE. VERMONT. 
Rev. Leonard E. Lathrop, 



APPENDIX H. 



The following are the names of the children of the Rev. 
Cotton Mather Smith, with the dates of their decease : 



Elizabeth Smith, 
Juliana Smith, 
Thomas Mather Smith, 
John Cotton Smith, 
Lucretia Smith, 
Mary Smith, 



born June 20, 1759, died Jan. — , 1788. 
" Feb. 12, 1761, " June 25. 1823. 
" July 2, 1763, " Apr. 18, 1782. 
" Feb. 12, 1765, " Dec. 7, 1845. 

" July 20, 1767, " 1773. 

" Feb. 16, 1769, " Dec. 10. 1801. 



APPENDIX I. 



The following is a roll of the Representatives from the town 
of Sharon, to the General Assembly, commencing in 1755, when 
the town was first represented : 



1755 



1757 



1758 



1759 



MAY SESSION. 



1756 John Marvin, 



John Williams, 
Josiah Strong. 
John Williams, 
Samuel Dunham. 



OCTOBER SESSION. 

John Williams, 
John Pardee. 
John Williams, 
John Pardee. 
John Williams, 
Josiah Strong. 
John Williams, 
John Pardee. 



1760 



1761 



1762 



1763 



1764 



Samuel Dunham, 
John Pardee. 
Caleb Jewitt, 
John Gay. 
John Williams, 
John Pardee. 
John Williams, 
Caleb Jewett. 
John Williams, 
Caleb Jewitt. 
* 24 



Josiah Strong, 
Caleb Jewitt. 
John Williams, 
John Pardee. 
John Williams, 
Caleb Jewitt. 
John Williams, 
David Foster. 
John Williams, 
David Foster. 



186 



HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. 





MAY SESSION. 


OCTOBER SESSION. 


1765 


John WilliamR, 






Caleb Jewitt. 


Caleb Jewitt. 


1766 


John WUliams, 


John Williams, 




Caleb Jewitt. 


Jeremiah Day. 


1767 


John Williams, 


John Williams, 




Jeremiah Day. 


Simeon Smith. 


1768 


John Marvin, 


John WiUiams, 




Thomas Pardee. 


Thomas Pardee. 


1769 


John Williams, 


John Williams, 




James Pardee. 


Thomas Pardee. 


* 1770 


Simeon Smith, 


John Williams, 




Thomas Pardee. 


Caleb Jewitt. 


1771 


John WUUams, 


John Williams, 




Simeon Smith. 


Simeon Smith. 


1773 


John Williams, 


John Williams, 




Simeon Smith. 


Simeon Smith. 


1773 


John Williams, 






James Pardee. 


James Pardee. 


1774 


James Pardee, 


Ebenezer Gay, 




Ebenezer Gay. 


Thomas Pardee. 


1775 


Ebenezer Gay, 


John Canfield, 




James Pardee. 


Caleb Jewitt. 


1776 


John Canfield, 


Ebenezer Gay, 




Caleb Jewett. 


James Pardee. 


1777 


John Canfield, 


James Pardee, 




Simeon Smith. 


Joseph Lord. > 


1778 


Ebenezer Gay, 


Ebenezer Gay, 




James Pardee. 


David Downs. 


1779 


John Canfield, 


John Canfield, 




Samuel Elmore. 


Ebenezer Gay. 


1780 


Samuel Elmore, 


Samuel Canfield, 


1781 


James Pardee. 


David Downs. 


' 


Samuel Elmore. 


1782 


David Downs, 


John Canfield, 




Joseph Landers. 


David Downs. 


1783 


Simeon Smith, 


Ebenezer Gay, 




David Downs. 


Josiah Coleman. ' 


1784 


Ebenezer Gay, 


John Canfield, 




Josiah Coleman. 


Simeon Smith. 



HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. 



187 



MAY SESSION. 

1785 John Canfield, 
Simeon Smith. 

1786 John Canfield, 
Simeon Smith. 

1787 Jonathan Gillet, 
Ephraim Marriner. 

1788 Ephraim Marriner, 
Josiah Coleman, f"^ 



1789 

1790 

1791 

1793 

1793 

1794 

1795 

1796 

1797 

1798 

1799 

1800 

1801 

1802 

1803 

1804 



David Downs, 
Isaac Pardee. 
David Downs, 
Isaac Pardee. 
Phineas Smith, 
Augustine Taylor, 
Phineas Smith, 
Judson Canfield. 
Judson Canfield, 
John C. Smith. 
Samuel Canfield, 
David Downs. 
David Downs, 
James Pardee. 
Samuel Canfield, 
John C. Smith. 
John C. Smith, 
Oliver Kellogg. 
John C. Smith, 
Oliver Kellogg. 
John C. Smith, 
Abel Patchen. 
John C. Smith, 
Oliver Kellogg. 
Oliver Kellogg, 
George King. 
Judson Canfield, 
Augustine Taylor. 
Judson Canfield, 
Daniel St. John. 
Judson Canfield, 
Isaac Pardee. 



OCTOBER SESSION. 

John Canfield, 
Simeon Smith. 



Simeon Smith. 

Jonathan Gillet. 
Ephraim Marriner, 
David Downs. 
David Downs, 
Isaac Pardee. 
Augustine Taj^lor, 
Phineas Smith. 
I'hineas Smith, 
Judson Canfield. 
Augustine Taylor, 
Judson Canfield. 
David Downs, 
Samuel Canfield. 
Samuel Canfield, 
David Downs. 
Samuel Canfield, 
Enoch Parsons, 
John C. Smith, 
Augustine Taylor. 
John C. Smith, 
Samuel Canfield. 
John C. Smith, 
Abel Patchen. 
John C. Smith, 
Isaac Pardee. 
John C. Smith, 
George King. 
Augustine Taylor, 
Isaac Pardee. 
Judson Canfield, 
Augustine Taylor. 
Judson Canfield, 
Daniel St. John. 
Judson Canfield, 
Isaac Pardee. 



188 



HISTORY OP THE TOWN OF SHARON. 





MAY SESSION. 


OCTOBER SESSIO 


1805 


Judson Canfield, 


Isaac Pardee, 




laaflc Pardee. 


Daniel St. John. «- 


1806 


Judson Canfield, 


Judson Canfield, 




Isaac Pardee. 


John C. Smith. 


1807 


John C. Smith, 


John C. Smith, 




Judson Canfield. 


Daniel St. John. ^ 


1808 


John C. Smith, 


John C. Smith, 




Judson Canfield. 


Judson Canfield. 


1809 


John C. Smith, 


Isaac Pardee, 




Judson Canfield. 


Simeon Blackman. 


1810 


Simeon Blackman, 


Cyrus Swan, 




Oliver Kellogg. 


Simeon Blackman. 


1811 


Simeon Blackman, 


Simeon Blackman, 




OUver Kellogg. 


Samuel E. Everitt. 


1813 


Oliver KeUogg, 


Isaac Pardee, 




Samuel E. Everitt. 


Samuel E. Everitt. 


1813 


Oliver Kellogg, 


Cyrus Swan, 




Samuel E. Everitt. 


Samuel E. Everitt. 


1814 


Oliver Kellogg, 


Cyrus Swan, 




Samuel E. Everitt. 


Samuel E. Everitt. 


1815 


Oliver Kellogg, 


Samuel Rockwell, 




Ansel Sterling. 


Daniel St. John. ^ 


1816 


Ohver Kellogg, 


Cyrus Swan, 




Samuel Rockwell. 


Israel Camp. 


1817 


Oliver Kellogg, 


Oliver Kellogg, 




Israel Camp. 


Thomas St. John. 


1818 


Hezekiah Goodwin, 


Oliver Kellogg, 




Thomas St John. 


Ansel Sterling. 



1819 Oliver Kellogg, Ansel Sterling, 

1820 Oliver Kellogg, Ansel Sterling. 

1821 Ansel Sterling, Samuel R. Gager. 

1822 Samuel R. Gager, Samuel Roberts. 

1823 Samuel Roberts, Horatio Smith. 

1824 Horatio Smith, Cyrus Swan. 

1825 Ansel Sterling, Cyrus Swan. 

1826 Ansel Sterling, Horatio Smith. 

1827 Cyrus Swan, Calvin Gay. 

1828 Cyrus Swan, Calvin Gay. 

1829 Ansel Sterling, Samuel R. Gager. 

1830 Charles F. Sedgwick Clark Chapman. 

1831 Charles F. Sedgwick. Israel Camp. 



UlSTOHY OF THE TOWN OF SUAUON. 189 

1882 Israel Camp, Samuel E. Everitt. 

1833 Clark Chapnan, John C. Smith, Jr. 

1834 Horatio Smith, John C. Smith, Jr. 

1835 Ansel Sterling, Ralph Deming. 

1836 Ansel Sterling, Zacheus W. Bissell. 

1837 Ansel Sterling, Elmore Everett. 

1838 Elmore Everett, Alanson Wheeler. 

1839 Alanson Wheeler, Ralph Deming. 

1840 Elmore Everitt, Horace Reed. 

1841 Zacheus W. Bissell, Richard Smith, 

1842 John Cotton Smith, Jr., Eleazer Jenkins. 

1843 Lorenzo D. Smith, William Everett. 

1844 No choice. 

1845 Charles Sears, William Knibloe. 

1846 John P. Goodwin, Elmore Everett. 

1847 John P. Goodwin, Charles Sears. 

1848 Ransom Smith, John Woodruff. 

1849 Ransom Smith, James Orr. 

1850 David S. Cartwright, Southard Hitchcock. 

1851 John S. Jewett, Gibbs W. Skiff. 

1852 George D. Goodwin, Chauncey Reed, Jr. 

1853 John C. Smith, Zacheus W. Bissell. 

1854 John C. Smith, George B. Bates. 

1855 Norman E. Wlieeler, Horace Dunbar. 

1856 Henry V. King, Henry St. John. 

1857 Fitch Landon, James A. Bierce. 

1858 Erastus A, Deming, Charles M. Parsons. 

1859 Myron Dakin, Seth B. St. John. 

1860 Henry T. Finch, Chesterfield Chapman. 

1861 Reuben K. Hunt, Joel S. Chaffee. 

1862 Asahel A. Hotchkiss, John H. FerLee. 

1863 Harry Lockwood, David F. Lambert. 

1864 Nathan Dunbar, Fitch Landon. 

1865 Edwin N. Hartwell, Miles B. Lewis. 

1866 Zacheus W. Bissell, David F. Smith. 

1867 George D. Goodwin, Ralph Deming. 

1868 Walter M. Patterson, Isaac N. Bartram. 

1869 Edgar J. Reed, David L. Smith. 

1870 John C. Smith, Baldwin Reed, 2d. 

1871 Hilan Middlebrooks, Charles E. B. Hatch. 

1872 George D. Goodwin, Isaac N. Bartram. 

1873 John Boyd, Robert D. Livingston. 



190 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. 

1874 Herman C. Rowley, Ichabod S. Everitt. 

1875 William E. Marsh, Baldwin Reed, 2d. 

1876 John Cotton Smith, Isaac N. Bartram. 

1877 Seymour A. Frayer, George M. Walton. 

1878 John B. Smith, Gilbert L. Smith. 

1879 Erastus A. Deming, Clark M. Juckett. 

1880 Robert E. Goodwin, Daniel Hall. 

1881 George D. Goodwin, Myron F. Whitney. 

1882 Edgar J. Reed, William Dakin. 

1883 Abel Benedict,* Edwin M. Winchester. 

1884 Nelson C. Willson, Charles C. Gordon. 

1885 Erastus A. Deming, James M. Reed. 

1886 Isaac N. Bartram, Albert M. Card. 

1887 Isaac N. Bartram, Hilan Middlebrook. 
1889 Baldwin Reed, J. Dwight St. John. 
1891 Isaac N. Bartram, Albert M. Card. 

1893 Charles C. Gordon, Seymour L. Hollister. 

1895 George E. Buckley, Lawrence VanAlstyne. 

1897 Simeon B. Jewett, Myron F. Whitney. 



OF THE governor's COUNCIL. 

Judson Canfield, John Cotton Smith. 

SENATORS. 

Ralph Deming, Horatio Smith, 

Charles F. Sedgwick, Isaac N. Bartram. 

JUDGES OF THE COUNTY COURT. 

John Williams, Judson Canfield, 

Cyrus Swan, Ansel Sterling. 

• Died before taking his seat. 



APPENDIX J. 



TOWN OFFICERS. 



The following persons have officiated as magistrates in the 
town : 



Nathaniel Skinner, 
Samuel Hutchinson, 
John WiUiams, 
Daniel Griswold, 
Joseph Lord, 
John Gay, 
John Canfield, 
David Downs, 
Isaac Pardee, 
Augustine Taylor, 
Judson Canfield, 
John Cotton Smith, 
Daniel St. John, 
Calvin Gay, 
Samuel E. Everitt, 
Oliver Kellogg, 
Cyrus Swan, 
Ansel Sterling, 
Samuel Rockwell, 
Horatio Smith, 



Samuel Roberts, 
Stephen Deming, 
Stephen Heath, 
Israel Camp, 
Charles F. Sedgwick, 
Oliver Kellogg, Jun. , 
Jacob Chamberlain, 
Ebenezer Blackman, 
Joshua B. Chaffee, 
Richard Smith, 
Benjamin HoUister, 
Alanson Wheeler, 
John W. McKoy, 
Ransom Smith, 
Zaccheus W. Bissell, 
Samuel Roberts, Jun. 
Silas A. Gray, 
William Everett, 
Daniel Parsons, 
Ralph Deming, 



193 



HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. 



Zalmon S. Hunt, 
Orrin Hutchinson, 
Andrew Lake, 
John Williams, 
Southard Hitchcock, 
Amos Prindle, 
James Orr, 

Eliakim S. Stoddard, Jr. 
Eben W. Chaffee, 
Harry Lockwood, 
Norman E. Wheeler, 
John T. Andrew, 
Fitch Landon, 
Garry S. Moray, 
Samuel Elliot, 
Cyrus W. Gray, 
William Stone, 
Horace Dunbar, 
Samuel S. Woodward, 
Ezra H. Bartram, 
Thomas N. Lucas, 
Heber Knibloe, 
Walter M. Patterson, 
Judson St. John, 



Charles E. B. Hatch, 
Philo Juckett, 
Edgar J. R. Reed, 
George Chamberlain, 
Robert D. Livingston, 
Charles L. Prindle, 
Daniel Hall, 

Chauncey W. Morehouse, 
Thomas Sterling, 
J. Wade Hughes, 
Clark M. Juckett, 
Thomas Wilbur. 
WiUard Baker, 
Isaac N. Bartram, 
John Wike, 
Albert M. Card, 
Frank W. Dakin, 
Joseph Ryan, 
Elijah Juckett, 
H. F. Landon, 
Albert Scott, 
James B. Wilbur, 
Charles C. Dean, 
Louis E. Schwab. 



TOWN CLERKS. 



Nathaniel Skinner, 
Ebenezer Frisbie, 
John Williams, 
Daniel Griswold, 
Samuel Canfleld, 
Israel Camp, 
George King, Jun., 
Henry H. Quintard, 
Erastus H. Winchester, 
James Orr, 
Harry Lockwood, 



James E. Watson, 
Aaron R. Smith, 
Samuel L. Gager, 
Robert E. Goodwin, 
Charles C. Gordon, 
J. Wade Hughes. 
E. H. Bartram, 
R. E. Goodwin, 
Charles H. Marvin, 
R. E. Goodwin, 
H. C. Rowley. 



HISTORY OF THE TOWN OP SHARON. 



The following Attorneys and Counsellors-at-Law have prac- 
ticed in the town : 



John Canfield, 
Judson Canfield, 
John Cotton Smith. 
Cyrus Swan, 
Joel T. Petit, 
William G. Williams, 
Ansel Sterling, 
Charles R. Brown, 
Chauncey Smith, 



Ebenezer Blackman, 
Charles F. Sedgwick, 
Eliakim Stoddard, 
Frederick J. Fenn, 
Richard Smith, 
James Orr, 
Walter M. Patterson, 
J. Wade Hughes, 
Willard Baker. 



PHYSICIANS. 



John Williams, 
Abner Peck, 
John Lee, 
Ashbel Goodrich, 
David Doty, 
Jonah Barnes, 
Phineas Smith, 
Samuel R. Gager, 
Samuel Rockwell, 
Simeon Blackman, 
Nathaniel Lowrey, 
John W. Smith, 
John Sears, 
Curtiss J. Hurd, 
Daniel Griswold, 
Simeon Smith, 



Joseph Hamilton, 
Elmore Everitt, 
Milo L. North, 
Ebenezer H. Conklin, 
Jehiel Abbott, 
Russell Everett, 
Ralph Deming, 
Horace A. Buttolph, 
Nathan S. Perry, 
Chauncey Reed, Jr., 
WilUam W. Knight, 
Charles H. Shears, 

B. W. Munson, 

C. W. Bassett, 
R. P. Knight. 



APPENDIX K. 



The following Hymn, composed by the Hon. John Cotton 
Smith, was sung at the Celebration of the One Hundredth Anni- 
versary of the First Town Meeting, December 33, 1839 : 

O bless the Lord, whose mighty hand 

Led our forefathers o'er the main. 
To spread throughout this distant land, 

Fair freedom's just and gentle reign. 

Not cold, nor want, nor foes array 'd. 
Could the firm Pilgrim's zeal restrain. 

They trusted in their Saviour's aid. 
Nor did His servants trust in vain. 

Through dangers, toils, and anxious cares, 
God was their guai'dian and their stay ; 

And gave in answer to their prayers, 
The blessings we enjoy this day. 

One century round these hills and plains. 

Have the Redeemer's praises rung, 
Still let them rise in lofty strains, 

From every heart and every tongue. 



APPENDIX L. 



HISTORY AND DEDICATION OF THE SOLDIERS MONUMENT. 



For many years prior to 1885 the citizens of the town of 
Sharon had felt that something should be done toward the erec- 
tion of a suitable monument to commemorate and perpetuate the 
memory of the noble deeds and sacrifices made in the late war of 
the Rebellion by those of her citizens who laid down their lives 
for their country's cause. 

No decided step toward such an end was taken until the year 
1885, when Miss Emily O. Wheeler, of New York city, presented 
to some interested citizens the plans and design for the beautiful 
piece of workmanship which now stands at the head of the 
village street. 

After consideration by some prominent citizens and members 
of the John M. Gregory Post, No. 59, G. A. R., "a petition for the 
calling of a town meeting was duly prepared and circulated, and 
in due time a meeting of the citizens of the town was warned for 
the 23d day of January, 1885, to consider and take action in the 
matter. 

At the meeting, which was a very large and enthusiastic one, 
a resolution was introduced providing for the erection of the 
monument according to the plans and design presented, and, after 
many fervent remarks, the following resolution was adopted : 



196 HISTOEY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. 

Resolved, That the sum of one thousand dollars be, and the 
same is hereby appi-opriated, by the town of Sharon, for the pur- 
pose of erecting to the memory of the honored dead, who enlisted 
from the town and who perished in the late war of the Rebellion, 
a monument in accordance with the design and plans as furnished 
by Miss Emily O. Wheeler, and that L. VanAlstyne Nelson C. 
Willson and Everett S. Dunbar be and are hereby appointed a com- 
mittee to locate and erect said monument, and the selectmen of 
8aid town are hereby further authorized and empowered to draw 
their orders on the treasurer of said town for a sum, not exceed- 
ing $1000, for the aforesaid purpose. 

Work was immediately begun upon the monument, and the 
John M. Gregory Post, No. 59, G. A. R., at a meeting called for 
that purpose, made arrangements for suitable dedicatory 
exercises. 

The Post also appointed the following committees to carry 
on the work of preparation for the dedicatory exercises : Com- 
mittee on speakers— N. C. Willson and Chas. E. Benton. Fi- 
nances — Abel R. Woodward, Myron F. Whitney and H. C. 
Rowley. Ceremonies — Dr. W. W. Knight and L. VanAlstyne. 

The furnishing of the collation, on the day of dedication, 
was left to the ladies of Sharon, as they were never known to fail 
on such occasions, and this conclusion was fully warranted by the 
bountiful repast they furnished. 

The monument was in due time completed and approved by 
the selectmen of the town, and the 6tli day of August, 1885, was 
set for the unveiling and dedication of the same. 

The day dawned bright and beautiful and proved to be all 
that could be desired. The procession, which was composed of 
three posts of the G. A. R. , two bands, and the speakers of the 
day, formed at 10 a. m., and marched past the monument to the 
speakers' stand. 

After the rendering of " Hail Columbia," by the Sharon cor- 
net band, the Rev. Jas. R. Bourne, chairman of the day, made a 
few introductory remarks and introduced Rev. Dr. C. C. Tiffany, 
of New York city, who presented the monument, on' behalf of the 
selectmen, to the John M. Gregory Post No. 59, G. A. R. 

The "Star Spangled Banner" was then rendered by the 
Lakeville cornet band, followed by a dedicatory prayer by Rev. C. 
B. Landon, former pastor of the M. E. Church in Sharon (whose 
earnest advocacy at the town meeting did much to secure the 
monument). The Chairman then said he would introduce the 



HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. 197 

next speaker, and if his words were as eloquent as his armless 
sleeve, as no doubt they would be, our hearts would be deeply 
moved. Col. A. H. Fenu of Winsted then made the dedicatory 
address. 

At the close of his speech, Col. Fenn read the following 
verses composed for the occasion by a lady in Sharon, Mrs. John 
C. Terrett: 

DEDICATORY VERSES. 
Forget them not ! the brave who sleep 

On distant fields, on yonder hill, 
It is our solemn trust to keep 

Undimmed their memory still. 
When the first fearful warning note 

Came floating o'er our quiet vale. 
Echoing from every mountain top, 

Borne on each swelling gale. 
Roused by no trumpet's thrilling peal, 

Bid by no tyrant's word of power, 
Freely they went at their country's call. 

In her dark and perilous hour. 
Our offerings we gratefully bring. 

And reverently place on each tomb. 
The fair, early blossoms of Spring, 

In fragrance and beauty to bloom. 
Bright emblems of hope for an hour. 

Then their glory and freshness must fade, 
A memorial lasting we rear 

To our mourned and honored dead. 
In its strength may it proudly stand, 

In silence the record to bear, 
Of each name of our patriot band, 

On, on, through the coming year. 

Then followed a salute of three rounds by David S. Cowles 
Post, No. 60, G. A. R., and the " Red, White and Blue," by the 
Sharon cornet band, after which the chairman said he would in- 
troduce the orator of the occasion, who, twenty years ago, tasted 
southern hospitality very different from what he would now re- 
ceive should he pay a second visit to Richmond. Rev. Dr. Hiram 
Eddy, of Canaan, then delivered the oration. 



198 



HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. 



The exercises were concluded by the benediction pronounced 
by the chairman. 

Then the procession re-formed and marched back to the Town 
Hall, where, after the blessing was asked by the Rev. Dr. Eddy, 
all, numbering between six and seven hundred, were bountifully 
served by the ladies. Thus ended a day which has become one of 
the bright portions of the history of Sharon. 

The following are the inscriptions and names on the mon- 
ument : 



SOUTH FACE. 

Erected by 

The town of Sharon 

In memory of the brave 

Men who enlisted from 

This township, and fell 

In the struggle to maintain 

The Union. 

Anno Domino, mdccclxxxv. 



NORTH FACE. 

Charles Chapman, 

Theodore F. Woodward, 

William H. Gaul, 

Philo L. Cole, 

Charles M. Douglass, 

Julius Cole, 

George C. Skiff, 

Franklin L. Wickwire. 



EAST FACE. 

Dwight Studley, 

William Slover, 

Charles Tread way, 

John Eby 

Edward Whitney, 

George King, 

Henry Frink, 

William Parret, 

Charles J. Reed, 

Wiliam Chapman. 



WEST FACE. 

Andrew Jackson, 

Edwin Carr, 

Barney Kinney, 

Henry McArthur, 

William Bush, 

Henry Bush, 

James Doyle, 

James Malone, 

Chester Slover, 

Milo Reynolds. 



APPENDIX M. 



THE H0TCHKI8S LIBRARY. 



There are few lovelier scenes in this country of fair land- 
scapes than the vista of wide green common and lofty overarch- 
ing elms which even Sharon's most casual visitor carries away 
with him, forever a picturesque memory. 

To add still another attraction to Sharon's stately street, of 
which she is so justly proud, Mrs. Hotchkiss, a former resident 
of the town, some time since announced her intention of placing 
here a memorial library in honor of her husband, Benjamin 
Berkeley Hotchkiss, who was born in Watertown, Conn., Oct. 
1st, 1836, removed to Sharon when three years of age, and died 
in Paris, France, February 14, 1885. 

The formal opening of the library took place September 13, 
1893, about a year after work was begun on the building. 

The structure is of grey limestone found in the township, the 
trimmings of white limestone coming from a quarry in Salisbury. 
The illustration, which will be found elsewhere, represents the 
exterior architecture— a building of simple yet dignified character, 
refreshingly free from much of the tasteless over-ornamentation 
of the present day. The architect was Mr. Bruce Price of 
New York. The general superintendent of the work was James 
Lire, of Norfolk ; the wood- work was done by D. N. Eggleston of 
Sharon, and the stone- work by John Flynn of Barrington, Mass. 



200 HISTOKY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. 

On entering the visitor passes through a vestibule, adorned 
with a fine oil portrait of Mr. Hotchkiss, into a large and cheer- 
ful apartment, which extends in the centre to the peaked roof. 
On the sides are galleries with many -shelved alcoves, doubtless 
designed for the uses of posterity — and the authors of the 
coming century. For the present generation ample provision 
has been made in the six alcoves on the ground floor. Just in- 
side the vestibule, on either side, are two staircases, which ascend 
to a common landing, then again separating, meet in a broad 
platform which overlooks the lower floor of the library. Here 
one gains a beautiful view of the rear corner of the library, a bay 
of symmetrical proportions, in which stands, on a pedestal, a 
bust of Mr. Hotchkiss, executed in Paris, 1879, by Ezekiel. 

The reading rooms occupy the north and south bays of the 
building, on the lower floor. Upstairs there are corresponding 
rooms, which as yet have not been appropriated to any special 
purpose. On the occasion of the summer receptions they serve 
effectively as places of provision for physical longings — but, no 
doubt, as the atmosphere created by the library stimulates higher 
intellectual development, here will be found ideal surroundings 
for places of literary refreshment, which, by the way, many of 
our country towns distressingly lack. Where could be found 
more suitable environments for a class i-eading the masterpieces 
of literature, or familiarizing themselves with the annals of some 
great nation ? 

The reading rooms correspond in size and in general furnish- 
ings. The walls are wainscoted in quartered oak — the floor, 
chairs, tables and desks being of the same material. On the walls 
hang beautiful etchings and photographs, many of the latter 
being reproductions of national scenery. Some of the photo- 
graphs are most artistically colored, with a fastidious skill and 
charming effect. The ample window space, characterizing the 
whole building, is here the means of flooding the reading rooms 
w^ith sunshine — there being five windows, in every case a panel 
of stained glass surmounting the square sashes. The panels in 
the north room bear the names of Homer, Virgil, Moliere, and 
Goethe, while the central window is devoted to a medallion of 
Dante, his brow wreathed with the laurel crown of fame. The 
south room commemorates the genius of our English speaking 
race, Chaucer, Shakespere, Milton and Franklin, while the cen- 
tral window enshrines the familiar and beloved features of our 
own Longfellow. 



HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. 301 

Even without the snap and crackle of burning logs, one's 
glance cannot but rest admiringly on the fire-places of cream 
glazed brick, with just a line of dark to emphasize the arch of 
Mexican onyx banding the hearth. The andirons and other 
appointments are of wrought iron. The quotation comes to 
mind : 

" Old wood to burn, 

" Old friends to trust, 

" Old authors to read," 

for on the table lie our old friends— the wreathed pillars of 
Harper's Magazine, the golden -covered Scribner, while yonder in 
the alcoves are our old authors, true and tried literary compan- 
ions. On the long table devoted to literature we find the New 
York Tribune, the New York World and the New York Press. Of 
weekly publications there are Harper's Bazar, Harper's Young 
People, Life, Scientific American and the Amenia Times. St. 
Nicholas and the Review of Reviews are monthly visitors to the 
table. The reading rooms are open from two to five o'clock 
daily in the afternoon, and from five to seven three evenings in 
the week. All inhabitants of the town of Sharon are free to avail 
themsel es of the reading rooms' privileges. 

Works of fiction comprise one -third of the books in the 
library. History, biography and poetry are represented by about 
an equal number of volumes, and taken together form a collection 
slightly larger than the works of fiction. The remaining vol- 
umes are variously classed under the head of juvenile books, works 
of travel, works of theology, philosophy, philology, sociology, 
the useful and fine arts. There is also a case containing valuable 
reference works — encyclopedias, dictionaries and similar helps. 

At the opening of the library there were 2,640 volumes placed 
on the shelves. The number has now somewhat increased. The 
library is open to members who pay a small annual fee as a help 
toward defraying expenses. Books may be retained two weeks, 
with the privileges of renewal. At the time of writing there are 
a gratifying number of names on the roll of membership. 

The library and grounds are deeded to an association of 
fifteen people, all residents of Sharon. The names of these trus- 
tees are as follows : Dr. W. W. Knight, Dr. C. W. Bassett, E. B. 
Reed, G. M. Walton, C. C. Gordon, A. M. Card, Luther Brown, 
F. W. Dakin, Willard Baker, C. Albert Schwab, E. F. Gillette, 
Miss Ruth Prindle, Mrs. Flora A. Ryan, Mrs. Anna Reed and 
Miss Fanny Taylor. 



»U» HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. 

From this number are chosen an executive committee of five, 
who are responsible for the management of the Ubrary. The 
oflScers are : Dr. W. W. Knight, President ; Miss Ruth Prindle, 
Vice-President ; C. A. Schwab, Secretary; Willard Baker, 
Treasurer. 

The courtesy and efficiency which Mrs. Flqra A. Ryan brings 
to bear in her duties as Librarian cannot fail to make a success 
of her work. 

The library, besides being a moniunent of generous thought- 
fulness for some with limited opportunities, is moreover an 
elevating and purifying influience to the community. There 
comes to mind a memory of an Eastern tale, of how a rich mer- 
chant, the possessor of countless wealth in merchandise and 
camels, was filled with benevolent desires, and sought of a 
prophet the way to do a true and lasting good. 

" Dig a well, my son," was the answer of the venerable wise 
one, " for not only will that afford comfort now, but coming gen- 
erations, wearied with long journeying over burning sands, shall 
there refresh and reinvigorate themselves, and bless the hand 
that brought water out of the desert." 




APPENDIX N. 



THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN SHARON. 



The spiritual interests of Catholics in Sharon were first min- 
istered to by Rev. Father Kelly of Falls Village, this town being 
a part of that parish at that time. The " first mass " was offered 
in a small one-storied house, painted red, on the road to Ells- 
worth, then occupied by James Dunning. This continued to be 
the place of Cathohc worship, at long and irregular intervals, for 
some years. The next house to be honored in this way, which is 
now entirely obliterated, stood o'ershadowed by the furnace in 
the Valley. We next find the Catholics of Sharon assembling 
for worship in the upper story of the old brick paint shop on Gay 
street, nearly opposite the new schoolhouse. During these years 
religious service was only held once or twice a year. In 1858 the 
old tannery was offered by Mr. Sears, and religious service was held 
there. About twenty years ago mass began to be celebrated in 
the schoolhouse in the Valley, but this soon proved too small to 
accommodate the increasing number of Catholics, who began to 
assemble in the present Town Hall. Here they continued to 
worship and receive the sacraments of the Church at more regular 
intervals and much more frequently until the erection, in 1884, 
of the little church. This stands about midway between Sharon 
Street and the Valley. Meantime two important changes had 
taken place in the parish. In the seventies Rev. H. J. Lynch left 
Falls Village and began to reside in Lakeville. This brought the 






204 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SHARON. 



priests near to Sharon, and enabled them to officiate there more 
frequently. In the year 1882 a new parish came into existence 
at Cornwall Bridge, and Sharon was cut off from Lakeville and 
made a part of the new parish. The first rector of this newly- 
established district was Mr. Sheridan, who erected a beautiful 
Uttle church and had it dedicated in 1884. His successors were 
Rev. W. J. Doolan (four years). Rev. Mr. Sheehan (one year), 
Rev. M. F. Rigney, (two years), Rev. Mr. Cray (one year) and 
Rev. J. T. Walsh, the present incumbent (1898), who came in the 
summer of 1895, and became pastor resident in Sharon in Janu- 
ary, 1896. A parochial residence was then secured and St. 
Bernard's became the parochial church, Cornwall Bridf 
becoming a mission. The parish of St. Bernard now consists yj- 
the towns of Sharon, Cornwall, Kent and Warren. The 21st day 
of July, 1897, was a red-letter day in the history of St. Bernard's 
church. On that day, for the first time, the solemn rite of 
confirmation was administered by the Right Rev'd M. Tierney, 
D. D. , Bishop of the Hartford Diocese, 




I 



